Think HRH's (post No 87) is a Bates too.....

And Gordon Brown should accompany PoW to the Station Barber!

Ooops - thanks 622 - I meant Post 57 of course

I am awaiting post #87 with great excitement! :E

Alkit, RAF Feltwell, 1965 et seq.

It fell into a river that year, and thus became an SD Cloth Cap very early in its life. Post 1976, relegated to Range duties at Bisley until the late 90s.
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https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5f2c19c628.jpg

Back to suits ........A Tuesday evening in the bar of the Finningley mess during one of the hot spells in the second half of the 70s. Enter PMC, who addresses a Dominie pilot thus 'This is a suit day; do you have the jacket of this suit' pointing to the pilot's trousers (in a rather fetching shade of pink). 'Just one moment, Sir'. Said pilot shortly returns dressed overall as required. Collapse of (rather stout) party to smothered guffaws in back of the room.

It was at a famous V-Bomber Station, in the early 80s, at the end of an Exercise. A few Stn Exes made their way to the Officers Mess Bar for some relaxing libations, in assorted Combat Dress and Flying Suits. A Living-In Sqn Ldr, already properly attired in a suit, entered and without preamble invited those improperly dressed to retire to the adjacent Scruffs Bar. OC No. 50 Sqn and SATCO humbly complied without demur … the handful of others just left.

Standards, Old Boy. No point in having them if you don’t uphold them.

“Range duties” for hats…..

Paddy Walsh (Puma helicopter flight lieutenant crewman training officer) once had his SD hat used as a target for an air to ground gunnery range session. He had poured scorn on the involved crew’s ability to hit one from the air.

It was “borrowed” from his hat peg and was later put back with a few 7.62mm sized holes and the stuffing pulled out. Those responsible for it thought it hilarious.

Paddy thought it even funnier. He knew exactly what would happen so he’d swapped it earlier for that of a certain Sqn Ldr.

A retiring member of the RAF Service Pistol Team community asked for his SD Cap to be formally consigned to history on the range. No ricochets were observed, as all the (numerous) 9mm rounds hit the soft crown of his cap. I despatched a photo of a (former) girlfriend in similar manner.
OMG, so long ago now!

Would that have been a certain, rather elderly, beanstealer Sqn Ldr (Spec Aircrew) Vulcan Nav Radar J... W........?

You may well be correct.

The very same nav radar sqn. ldr. even kicked us out of the Waddo scruffs' bar where we had gone for one or two ales in flying kit after a GV Training Flight sortie in 1980, saying "You may get away with that at Scampton, but you can't here".

Tempus fugit. [My O level is German].

Just to think that, until the day I retired as a civvy MetPerson in 1997, to work without a tie was unthinkable. Nowadays if I turned up wearing a tie it would be assumed that I was on the carpet, no coffee, or about to attend a wedding or [black tie] a funeral.

I still am not sure if things are better or worse, but I do have a lot of ties to give away.

Indeed and the Duke of Cambridge also took the dias for the march past of the Veterans in Horse Guards as the RAF contingent were given the honour of the lead column this year. Singing in Hats? We all did and I have never heard singing like it from the massed ranks of "O God" and the national anthem. A powerful memory to take away. Also to wear my Great Grandfathers mounted campaign medals from the Great War in his home town. I had been told his war record history by my friend whom mounted them this year (that was wonderful news for my mother whom always wished to find out. He would not tell her when alive). Those medals got trooped big time next to my own and I was very fortunate that they were seen quite a bit because of where I was in the column. An emontional day and I am highly unlikely ever to do a veterans march past ever like that again.

Due to a clash between GV79 and Red Flag, 2 GV crews had to take their bombers home before the end of the competition (too many V-bombers away from base), but would subsequently go back out in a VC10...

That miserable old Nav Rad Sqn Ldr decreed that he was the senior man in our party and that we would pax over in No1s as the AOC was going to be on the same aircraft with us. What an uncomfortable trip that was! Brize to Dulles, then Dulles to Barksdale all trussed up in best blue in the back of the aircraft behind the freight. At one point the AOC, travelling in the front, came back to chat with us - he was travelling in much more comfortable clothes!

Fortunately we didn't have such miseries at Sunny Scampton!

It was an absolutely fantastic day, it felt very different this year to many previous ones.

I was privileged to once again parade with the RAF Servicing Commando & Tactical Supply Wing Association. Yes it's a mouthful and too much seemingly for the Duke of Cambridge's sidekick, who described us as "......& Tactical Wing Supply...". To be fair, as a rotary pilot, it was obvious from his look he knew his AdeC was incorrect.

By the front, bimble.....

Once again, post-parade, we retired to our birthplace/drinking establishment on Whitehall, paid our due reverence to Group Captain Craven-Griffiths and were, as always, joined by many fine folks from the Royal Yacht Service (who also use the same venue).

Indeed. I must admit the RBL did really lose the plot on planning for entry to Horse Guards this year. To call it farcical was an understatement. I had walked from the Mall with an older veteran whom was not impressed, said "Sod this, I will sit down nearer the front and wait there." I was busy talking by that time from mates that were with the Harrier Farce Association. Afterwards it was a lovely meal in the RAF Club. ;)