We hada swindle in Ascension (oh how the thread twists - but no one wore berets, or any caps come to that).

We used to pay in to it and get coffee, milk etc. Then I noticed aircrew often wanted a can of fizz. NAAFI at Travellers stocked Coke. I then discovered that NAAFI in Georgetown sold a dozen varieties of fizz at lower prices. Game on.

I charged Traveller's prices but offered a wider range of drinks, most not available up the hill. We made a hansom profit, sufficient to sub Sqn Ldr Ops when he 'lunched-out' a departing member of Ops at the Club in George Town. Everyone happy.

I also had to audit the Wives Club at Waddo. I pointed out to OC PMS that the annual turnover in the Wives Club was marginally less than my day's pay and I had to audit them 4 times per year. We stopped the audit.

Had to audit the ATC account at Lossie, nightmare, they were plus or minus a number of kegs of beer every month.

Height's Good, one of our officers phoned someone at Honington when they all needed a "replacement" for a deployment. I think it's only the FJ world now who don't wear one while on deployed flying ops??

How else would everyone know who is normal and who take the the p*ss out of :E

As one who flew in those clattering noisy egg whisks I was rather fond of my beret! Easily stowed in growbag.

Didn't the penchant for aircrew wearing berets stem from the SH world's experiences in NornIrn? General 'tone down / blend in' between aircrew and troops meant no gaudy badges, black rather than white kneepads, cabbage kit jackets and berets? So that it would be far more difficult for a terrorist sniper to identify the aircrew in a group on the ground?

Seems sensible where there's a reason. But generally?

Before the reintroduction of the tw@t hat, there was an article in Air Clues showing the possible alternative - a baseball cap :eek:. I was never sure whether it wasn't just a spoof, as the wearer was also puffing on a huge cigar.

A chap who was holding at Adastral between courses told me that he'd been observing the meeting where various firms offered their chip bag solutions. The first entrant produced something as simple as the USAF style, which could easily be folded over and stuffed into a pocket. Excellent, he thought.

But then came that awful thing with buttons and flaps - and the special version for air officers with a gold wire badge and blue piping. So What The Aircrew Wanted was binned and the cumbersome device was chosen.

Beret wearers would have been amused to witness the apoplexy of some aged shiny VC10 captain when a new Air Eng SNCO turned up one day in flying suit and beret!

Well around 2005, when PR was flush with cash, I got an annual box load of gititz. Gitiz like pens, mouse mats, key fobs and one year 10 RAF Baseball Caps. Someone had found them in store somewhere?

Also an RAF Golfing umbrella the year before it became the ROYAL AIR FORCE. Useful for meeting our Air Cdre after alighting from his hecopleter. The following year, with the new script I got two black collapsible umbrellas with BLACK inscription. Very tone down.

Never did like seeing an officer in a beret, rockapes excepted. At least they could shape them correctly.

Of course as aircraft techies we never trusted junior ranks who wore chip bags or stable belts either.

Chip bags on SNCO's were acceptable as, for reasons unknown, so many of them seemed to lose the ability to wear a beret correctly after getting their third.

Anything like this one, PN?

I was sent a box of them by the RAF Sports Board, for use by Inter-Service shooting teams.

Nothing wrong with the beret, its all down to the user molding and styling it to suit ones bonce.
Shape Your Beret

1. Dunk your beret in warm water—do not use hot or boiling water, as this can cause the wool to shrink.
2. Once your beret is damp and pliable (if it is dripping wet, gently wring out excess water), place the damp beret on your head. Adjust it to proper fit.
3. Pull the cardboard stiffener so it is centered over your left eye and smooth the material over your head. Fold the extra material over to the right forward side of your head, pulling it down towards your right ear. It should just touch your ear or go just below that. Bend the cardboard badge backer over at the top to achieve a smooth fold to the material forming the slope down to the right ear.
4. Once you've got it all set, wear the beret for a while until it has begun to dry.
5. Carefully take off the beret and set it aside to finish drying. You may need to shape it a few times to get it right.

But surely 1. above suggests hot water is desirable to reduce the massive volume of the initial product?

I did hear that of all the pieces of RAF Uniform that the field service cap was the one that the general public recognised as RAF the most.

Only old Chiefies knew how to wear a beret. Pulled over the back of the head with the badge in the middle of the forehead

MPN11 (#49),

I like that ! Very snazzy ! Ought to be service Issue (bin all berets).

Or...
 

...if all else fails, the OP could try approaching the problem from a different angle and boil his head to fit the beret?

Nope, I would agree with warm water but would dry the shaped item on a warm radiator to get the desired shrinkage. I would also remove the ribbon and lining before I started.

MPN, slightly different shape and in colour too IIRC with the sexy new typeface.

We may have to differ on that aspect ;)

MPN, I didn't mean I thought it was sexy, just some PR bod thought the new A was. They must have paid buckets for someone to design a new font, and not even 26 letters. I got the same effect with italic :)

JAVELINBOY

Same instructions the drill corporal gave us at Swinderby after we got our kit:ok:

I was quite impressed by your italic A ;)

I really don't know why it was deemed necessary, or how much it cost the RAF to get some long-haired hippy agency to do it. But it strikes me as classic MoD money-squandering, possibly initiated by a VSO trying to make his/her mark.

From my militaria dealing days I still have a copy of Army Dress Regulations, 1900, which shows both the Glengarry and the field service cap. The FSC differs from the Glengarry as its sides are designed to fold down and button at the chin to provide protection from the weather etc. Incidentally the FSC (NOT the forage cap) was not authorised for wear in the RAF until December 1939, and the beret did not come in till 1943, initially for the RAF Regiment only, which ties in with what Danny said in post # 32.

Incidentally, re t**t hat (cf c**t cap) I was never quite sure if this name was meant to describe the appearance of the headdress itself, or the wearer ;)

.

Tut P-N :=

TTN

An addition to your potted hsitory is that the beret in 1943 was RAF Regt only as you said but was only introduced for the rest in 1953. That was when the FSC was ceased until re-introduced in 1977 with the wooley-pulley in 1973[edit].

I was issued my woolly-pully in 1974.

K3k3

My apologies you are correct. It was 1973 for the jumper and not 1977 - post edited.

The woolly-pully and cash over the bar were some of the reasons I left the Air Force.

I wore my No 2 until it wore out.

I am pleased that I saw the last years of RAF mess life which would still have been recognisable to someone from pre war years, (suits in the evening, batmen, waiter service at all meals including breakfast etc), and certainly no cash over the bar.

I recall a mess meeting at Catterick when the main item on the agenda was whether the mess should buy a washing machine so that living in officers could do their own dhobi instead of sending it to the laundry. One crusty old wing commander (not RAF Regiment as it happens) spoke out against the idea, which he claimed would be "detrimental to the status of an officer".

Autres temps, autre moeurs

TTN - I am with you on that

I must admit that I found RAF Mess life much better than the Army version. After spending 3 years at RAF Gutersloh, I happened to go back when the Army had taken it over; just wasn't the same.

I do recall a Mess Meeting at HQ 11 Gp (Bentley Priory) in the early 80s, where there was a vociferous protest from living-in Fighter Control junior officers about having to dress for dinner. They wanted shirt & sweater to be SOP dress in the evening. I don't recall the result, but have a feeling they won their battle to drive down standards.

I was taught that one should dress in the expectation of the Mess receiving visitors, and visitors at BP were likely to be people of some significance. [/BOF]

MPN, I had the requirement to spend a night at the Drayton mess. Very impressed, swiush doors, smart decor, modern reception and wow a lift straight to the Soviet Sector of Berlin.

I still remember a male person wearing just underparts and vest flying a model aircraft in the corridor.

Also an unforgettable visit to Saxa where Suzie was the CO. She was Suzie to everyone.

In my day it would have been one pedalling a bike at full speed with another one on the crossbar holding a broom and a dustbin lid: Coming the other way would be another pair, similarly equipped.

PN

Could I ask when you were at Drayton and saw this apparition? Many years ago I resided there (MOD) and made many model aircraft!!
As a "singley" it was probably the best OM going (for a non-flying station!)

Bill

When the woolly-pulley came out, I was at Coningsby. What was very amusing was the alacrity with which the first of our aircrew stitched his wings on ( it was not officially sanctioned initially IIRC) .
One of our more mature (ex-Valiant and Canberra Recce) winged brethren quietly inquired of the said individual if he had remembered to also stitch them on his pyjamas.

Wooley-pulley had been in some while before the edict came along to sew your wings on, as I recall there was quite a bit of push-back in the early days.

The original suggestion concerning the wearing of Wings on the woolly pully was actually a spoof proposal penned by a Scampton Vulcan captain.

Officialdom took him seriously and soon we had to comply.

Unfortunately the barathea No2 uniform as worn by V-bomber and Lightning aircrew had been withdrawn and the hideous replacement version found little favour.

The woolly pully went through several iterations, but the worst was the V-neck version worn with a shirt and tie. The last time I'd had to wear such a uniform was at prep school...:hmm:

Since when was the No2 a prerogative of the V Force and Lightening aircrew? I was initially issued with blue serge No 2 which was chronic to wear and like every other officer I had the tailors make me a barathea version of the same. There was an issue version with zips instead of normal breast pockets but there was no shortage of those in the SH Force.

I believe every Supply officer had one too.

BM, now that is stretching the brain cells. I know I visited LATCC and remember lunch but no memory of why. Best guess was 1988 and it just seemed so spartan compared with the splendour of the ground floor. The wardrobes on stilts to avoid the rooms being sub standard. The sloping top of the windows with no curtain or blinds. But overall the contrast.

I am sure that was well after your time.

FED, I suspect the zipped pocket version you refer to was well after No 2.

The sequence was a No 1 for parades and a serge No 2 replaced as you say with your own barathea*. Then the No 2 was withdrawn around 1967 but you were allowed to wear it out. Instead we were given the cash to buy a second No 1 thus having working dress and parade dress. Not popular.

At the same time the Mk 2 V-Force crews and Lightning crews were issued with a zuite suit flying suit. A two piece and the trousers had a hole near the right pocket to accommodate the AVS and G suit hoses. We would have been very smart in a Gulag.

As Beagle said, supplies dried up in 1970 however there was a secret stash in Stores at Akrotiri and if you were quick you could persuade the Supplier to part with a set. I acquired one for someone several inches tasller and considerably bulkier. The station tailor did his magic and I had one that fitted perfectly. Apart from tailoring alterations the zuite suit was free issue.

Then came the new No 2, a c**p copy of the zuite suit at increased cost. They were optional, you could continue to wear the No 1 Working Dress. Then came the WP.

Don't start on the shirt saga.

Depends on who you were Beags, initially the round neck was worst for airmen. Every SWO and their respective staffs had different ideas, some wanted a tie with collar points tucked in, others said no ties with collars outside the neckband and every combination between. A bit like the current differences of opinion on MTP, tucked in/out, sleeves up/down.

At Catterick around 1965 a chap who had been chopped from pilot training turned up to start his Junior Regiment Officers' Course in one of those zip-up Bomber Command thingies, complete with regiment flashes. He was sent back to the mess to change and told to get rid of it ASAP. Another time a chap appeared in his no 2 complete with boots and anklets, web. Once again somebody had a not so quiet word with him, and he never appeared in that rig again.