Here it is during the Commander-in-Chief's visit earlier this week.
https://scontent-lhr8-1.xx.fbcdn.net...97&oe=5EC935DE

The cut off point is obvious and consistent from place to place. One gate guardian per station... the one for which funding is provided.

Minor infrastructure faults costing less than a couple of thousand to fix are generally covered by a regional maintenance contract while major new build is typically delivered by centrally-funded projects not under the station’s direct control. Everything in between (which is a lot...) has to be funded from a limited pot of discretionary spending under the station commander’s control. Using it to maintain a collection of additional gate guardians instead of addressing infrastructure issues is not only a strange order of priority but is also potentially difficult if, for instance, there are health and safety deficiencies going unfixed. Which again is not uncommon.

I realise I’m taking a blunt approach to this but I think it’s reflective of the ‘enough is enough’ stance finally being taken after many years of failing to prioritise adequately. Hopefully more of the same to come on a much grander scale in the big review!

Whatever happened to "Tallest on the right, shortest on the left" ?

BVRAAM, thanks for that. I was struggling to remember from my odd visits to Marham exactly what was where.

Not just that, some females are in trousers, some in skirts, no standardisation, also looks rather shoddy and thrown together with no even height, is it me or doesn't it?.

Beards, a handful of white belts, Navy uniforms sprinkled in, it doesn't look smart and military, it just looks a bit shabby and shoddy.

Meanwhile, back in the day of the V Force, at RAF Waddington we had the regular Saturday night dance in the Raven Club with bands like the Bee-Gees attracting hundreds of civilians onto the camp from as far away as Scotland, all jigging away about five hundred yards from the bombed up QRA aircraft on Alpha dispersal. :ooh:

Cannot recall seeing a scruffier bunch,has the position of S.W.O. been done away with?

I can recall OC Eng Wing at Abingdon,being requested leave an A.O.C,`s parade rehearsal,by the SWO ,because OC Eng`s tunic had a red lining.This was back in the 70`s.

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Beards, if properly trimmed, are not untidy.
If the military is supposed to reflect the society it serves, then surely the military should look like 2020 and not 1990?
A "Joint Force" should surely have RN and RAF personnel among each other, and not segregated to either side?

There must have been a hell of a rush for them to break ranks so as to get the the parade square for the AOC's Parade.

Thought uniform meant uniform,well it did from 1972-1984 when I was an airman.

Oh for Gawds sakes..... get over yourselves.

I was proud to serve,and still am after 36 years.did you ever join HM Forces?

Yes I did. RAF from 1975-1994 but I'm not serving now and I don't think we should criticise those serving now for not meeting the expectations of our generation. Time to pass that baton on.

That is dreadful.
Just one up from a shambles.

That photo does nothing for my morale.

As much as that?

It looks like a complete sack of dung!

I am more than willing to be corrected IF someone can ~ allude ~ to just wtf is going on!

I think individually most of the airmen and women (and matelots) on parade seem to pass muster pretty well. It is just that no attempt to dress by height has been made, and I cant work out why some of the girls are wearing white belts. Can't imagine HM was impressed. Pleased to see the RAF station sign (a blue bull) visible just above the royal car in the photo.

That is just opposite SHQ (or at least where SHQ used to be). Last time I was there was when I handed in my final clearance card on my last day of service in December 1976. More than half a lifetime ago :(

Uniform - as in KD
 

Reminds me of an early morning in Malta. We had upset the AOC at dinner (tied his shoe laces together which, was taken as personal). xx Sqn officers were ordered to parade in uniform at 0630. We managed to have everyone in something different; KD shorts, KD longs, every colour of KD bush jackets, various colours of flyng suit, No 6, No 1, Bates hat, chip bag... You get the look of it! Well worth getting up early for.

There might be another (Flyable... :E) one available soon.
Numerous rumour posts swirling around Facebook that Bruntingthorpe is being given over completely to car storage and all airframes to be 'removed'... :(

Marham [yeah it was alright it's lovely Norfolk] anecdotal tale
 

Last time [?] her Maj came to RAF Marham all we CMU contractor "tramps" were told in no uncertain terms we were not to be visible. This was a bit of a shame as the last time I said hello to her ## I had an armful of SLR as she presented yet another Sqdn standard to the RAFs premier AD outfit...

Anyway. We were "all" out the back of 4 shed tabing [filthy habit but it was crowd syndrome] and past rolls the motorcade on it's regal way when one of the permies [who trust me looked like an aged catweazle] did the unthinkable and WAVED. Word from the front was she gave a small wave back, but nothing like the word we got later along the lines of "if you lot ever do something like that again"...of course no one gave the smart arse reply...


## figuratively speaking of course.

Shabby. Now that's a good word!

Snap!! 31.12.76.

The old Q sheds from Leuchars were given to Bruntingthorpe. They had to go rapidly before they became listed buildings which would have prevented work for the new Typhoon seat bay. Would they become similarly listed after relocation to Bruntingthorpe, or is the assessment location-dependent?

We take pride in the actions of the RAF during the second world war, yet the photographs of the era show a force dishevelled by any recent standard. I'd rather the efforts of the force we have goes into delivering the capabilities we are here for, rather than delivering some superficial perfection which detracts form the fighting force.

I thought that Apartheight has been abolished.....

Clever..very clever.

Last chance to see for the lucky few before the inevitable. Reminds me of crawling round the Woodford B2 XH670 as a boy.

https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisat...gate-guardian/

I have a recollection that in the '80s around the time Valley had its corporate wrist slapped for having the temerity to have a Gnat and Hunter on the gate, USAF airbases were ordered to have collections of historic aircraft. Which I suppose sums up a different attitude to preserving artifacts relateed to recent history. Here the short termism of the bean counters rules.

Can't see the UK ever having anything like this:

Community Static Display Program

The museum's Collection Management Division oversees the Air Force Community Static Display Program for static display aerospace vehicles on loan to municipal corporations, counties, political subdivision of a State, servicemen's monument associations, a post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States or of the American Legion or a unit of any other recognized war veterans’ association, a local or national unit of any war veterans’ association of a foreign nation which is recognized by the national government of that nation (or by the government of one of the principal political subdivisions of that nation), post of the Sons of Veterans Reserves. This program is governed by Title 10 USC, Section 2572. For more information on the application process, see the attached information sheet and then contact [email protected].

Click here for additional information about the Community Static Display program

I was an officer at an ATC squadron that had a Vampire and there was a whole Air Publication devoted to the care and maintenance of gate guardians.

It looks like the Victor will be scrapped

https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisat...gate-guardian/

The LPG Q Sheds came from Wattisham...

I do like the idea that the gate guardian was the aircraft with the best remaining fatigue life. Hilarious. Good organisation there, someone!

Was the ATC squadron somewhere on the south coast, possibly Hastings? I remember driving past a Vampire on the way from Dover to Portsmouth in the mid seventies.

The Cornish Aviation Society looked after St. Mawgan’s Shackleton WL795 and kept it in good order for fifteen or more years until the powers that be decided it had to be sold. Such a shame a modest enthusiastic team could not have done similar with the Victor. Ah well, someone somewhere will say this is the price of progress.

The last remaining Beverley presently at Fort Paull east of Hull is likely to be scrapped (as was the example at the RAF Museum) unless a buyer can be found.

Its already been taken apart and moved twice now since....and the rumour is, its probably not going to survive a 3rd go at taking it apart and putting it back together....or rather the putting it back together bit might be a 3rd time too many.
Everyone also forgets about the Bev that was at Southend as well, the ex-A&AEE XB261, had been there since flown in there in 1971, and was scrapped there the same year that the one at Hendon was scrapped.

I did my last five years at Marham so I'll be sad to see her go but I guess it's inevitable really as I expect she's in a right state internally. It makes you wonder what some of the other large aircraft preserved outside are like, Waddington Vulcan?

Further afield I would hope the VC10 and C130 C3 at Cosford will survive a while longer being fairly recently retired but I expect they will eventually go a similar way? Likewise the Vulcans at various civvy sites up and down the country.
Although I have a soft spot for the Bev it was a fairly small fleet, operated a long time ago and is not well known by the public, it's also flipping big, all of which don't work for it sadly. No disrespect intended- I'd love to see it survive but I can't see it somehow.

At least a couple of Victor's have long term futures, the Duxford K1 (?) looked to be undergoing some pretty serious maintenance work when I visited last year

Hopefully parts of the Marham Victor will survive.

and yet the RAF Museum gives space to a B-17 and a P-51 in USAAF colours, and sundry Luftwaffe types, while Duxford's collection includes more American aircraft. Surely the Beverley deserves a place under cover?

The problem is finding a museum 'indoors' capable of housing a Bev...?

But, yes, its always annoyed me that RAFM couldn't be arsed or were too lazy to repaint the P-51D into a RAF Mustang IV scheme, and likewise the B-17G into a Bomber or Coastal Command Fortress III.
(unless it was part of the condition of getting them?)