RAF 75th Anniversary

[Sisemen]

Found this old video when sorting things out so transferred to youtube. Did a search on Google - not a lot on the 75th

[ian16th]

During my service the only significant anniversary was the 40th in 1958, and I don't remember anything being done to celebrate.

At the time, I was with the RAFLP at Istres and we were in the midst of moving to Orange, so probably too busy to celebrate.

[G-CPTN]

Lots of lamented types in that film.

[Alisoncc]

'Angars is for aeries, not for playing soldiers. Recognised the tune they played when HMQ started her inspection, well really .....

I don't want to join the air force.
I don't want to go to war.
I'd rather hang around Piccadilly underground
Living off the earnings of a high class lady.
.......

Wouldn't have been raining at Finningley. It would have been bloody snowing.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I was due to meet the Queen - I had to practice, with the wife of VCAS standing in - but it bucketed down all day and HMTheQ stayed in her car and drove past all the aircraft on review, and I don't blame her. We got soaked to the skin in the 2 minutes it took for her to emerge from the fog, drive down the Tornado line, and disappear into more murk at the end. Not an aircraft got airborne, even a helicopter. It was the wettest day in Norfolk ever, and records started over 400 years ago. My SD hat never fitted afterwards.
Looking at the video, I think the Lancaster must have gone over much later after we all stacked - there is nobody around. At 16:02, you can see my Tornado F3 at the right end of the line of Tornados (seen from the front), and again at 18:55. We were all given jets just out of the paint shop, and all landed using aerodynamic braking so as not to get engine soot on the fin from using Thrust Reverse.

[Sisemen]

Fox - the Lancaster video was taken the week before on the rehearsal. This is the link to the full video:

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Ah, that explains it. Many thanks!

[4mastacker]

I recognise some of the faces in that video. The airman carrying the brolly protecting HMtQ was one of mine - he was awarded an AOC's commendation making sure she was kept dry despite being soaked to the skin himself.

Supply Sqn's tea-bar done a roaring trade that day because of the rain. The takings paid for the Sqn's Christmas Party that year.

The floor in the parade hangar had been dug up and completely relaid for the day and the world's supply of blue bunting and white cam netting was used to mask the newly painted walls. The Bull roundabout had been completely replanted with red, white and blue hyacinths brought in from Holland the previous day.

The Mosquito was a late arrival for the hangar display, flying in very late the previous day - a Phantom (XV343) had been brought in just in case the Mossie couldn't make it. The Phantom was later scrapped on site.

Oh! Did anyone mention that it pissed it down that day? Can't say I've seen rain like that since.

[ian16th]

The 17th Entry B/E's Pass-out Parade was a wet weather do, in a hanger.

The base drum was not used, but the tenor drum still echoed terribly and the whole parade was a shambles.

Half kept in step with the drumbeat, the other half with the echo!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The 75th debacle was probably my fault - I think I must be a Parade Jinx. The only other one I was in was my own IOT graduation, where it was so cold and snowy they had to use the runway blowers to clear the square, stewards handed out double brandies and 2 blankets each to the parents, and none of the grad photos came out as the cold defocused the camera lens. We are the only course not to have our photo up in CHOM. When my Squadron got a new standard, I was wisely put in the Q shed.

[4mastacker]

Whoooops, senior moment with my earlier post - the Phantom in the hangar display was XV393. Mea culpa.

Mr Fox said not an aircraft got airborne ... there was at least one in that line up that would never get airborne because it was already provisionally Cat 5.

[Ex-Ascot]

Apart from graduation I never took part in a parade in the Royal Air Force. Delivered pax to stations for parades many times. Couldn't go to the mess for lunch, couldn't wander around no one was allowed out who wasn't involved. The places were like ghost towns. Used to lounge around on the aircraft or go to ATC for a coffee and chat up the girlies.

Got out of the one for the presentation of new Squadron Colours by the PM by doing the flypast. Prior to the parade Mrs T had tea and biscuits with the Stn Cdr so that he could control the timing of her stepping onto the podium. We were in a hold over Hungerford. She finished her tea and said something along the lines of, 'come on let's get on with it then'. He didn't have the guts to explain the critical timing aspect due to the flypast. I am sure that she knew, she was just testing him and he failed. 40 miles away we got word that she was on her way to the parade ground. We were supposed to come out of the hold, jink a bit to line ourselves up with the centre line of the parade and go sedately over at I think 210 kts. We fire walled the throttles the Flt Eng pulled the speed horn circuit breakers and aimed straight at BZN. Apparently the 330 kts looked very impressive but as can be seen we were off line. That photo should have shown both the aircraft on the parade ground and us coming over between them.

[ian16th]

Apart from graduation I never took part in a parade in the Royal Air Force.

Standards aren't slipping, the've gone!

Before the 1956 Suez crises we had a Station Parade 3 out of 4 Saturdays a month at Yatesbury.

On a flying unit we had Saturday morning flying.

[ricardian]

My RAF service was 1959-61 as a Boy Entrant and 1961-73 in "man's service". My last parade was in 1968 at Tangmere where we had the Royal Navy (Int cell), Army (logistics) and RAF (38 Group); it was "freedom of the city of Chichester" or some such excuse and it was a bit of a shambles as all 3 services marched at slightly different speeds. Fortunately the Army RSM took over the parade (much to the disgust of the RAF SWO) and it went as well as could be expected.
When I was demobbed from Mountbatten in 1973 I was quite surprised to find that although I'd been promoted to Cpl in 1964 my greatcoat still bore my SAC props.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Ah, the benefits of CAPs. For any flypasts, our crews always held on a CAP within about 20 miles, so that it was not possible for VIP to get to the podium from wherever they were having tiffin before we could be overhead. We also had our own backup comms - Man on radio on approach road - man on radio at ops desk - ops desk company freq to jets.
Of course, we could give it a touch more 'Gentleman's' than you could, 600 kts fixes almost any delay
I was only ever Man Down The Back on a four ship, so one just hung in there. Had to drop lower if the lead put the heaters in, or the fin vibrated like crazy.

Wonder if Boac will tell use the tricks he used? He must have done a thousand of 'em.

[Pontius Navigator]

The 75th passed me by, awareness wise. I was at Waddo and absolutely zero recollection.

Was involved in some other wastes of time. Polishing the men's toilet walls in Waddo Ops in case Fag Ash Lil wanted a pee. The end result was near pornographic with doors and walls gleaming like mirrors.

Then the standard stand in front of aircraft in Cyprus for Ted Heath.

Best was to fly to Singapore for an air power demo for Lord Carrington - best as we never got there. Singapore was full so we had a weekend snorkelling and sunbathing in Gan.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Actually, my hat has been on one more Parade than I have - Prince Andrew borrowed it to do a Guard Inspection.
I was once picked to serve drinks to Princess Margaret - very tricky task, with complex briefing on how to limit her consumption of gin, aided by a chosen man mixing the drinks. I was selected as I had been a wine waiter before joining up, and had mastered the art of having one's eye caught only when one wished to have one's eye caught, without giving away that it was deliberate either. I was also able to present the tray so that the G&T she chose was the one intended (which wasn't always the nearest)

[Boac]

He must have done a thousand of 'em.

- well, not quite! The secret of my success, I can disclose, was to hang on to the leader who got there on time.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Ah - I'd worked that one out myself!

[Undried Plum]

how to limit her consumption of gin

If she was anything like her late mother, who had hollow legs and only allowed her gin to be diluted with Dubonnet (50:50), it must've been quite a trick to limit her gin intake to less than a pint a day.