264 Squadron News

May 2014 We Defy Issue 2/14

Special Thanks: To Paul Lippett, on hearing of the problem with lack of rooms, gal-lantly gave up his room so that no one would be disappointed and will travel to and from his home. Luckily he will be with us for the trip to Hendon and the Squadron Dinner. Thanks Paul, that was a load off my mind! Also to the Alan & Derek Cook and their partners for also nobly surrendering their rooms and moving to a nearby hotel to free up rooms. All very much appreciated, thank you all. I recently had this email and wonder if any of our members would reply to it. To: Squadron Secretary From: Doug Gordon douglin@wanadoo.fr Sir, I am an aviation historian and author. I write primarily about units and aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s. I have recently embarked on some research on the Meteor NF11 and NF13 with a view to publishing an article. I am anxious to correspond with any ex pilots or navs of these variants and am hoping you might be able to help me by putting me in touch with anyone willing to help. I have published numerous articles in the UK and France in recent years and would welcome the opportunity to send you a couple of these. I can reassure you of my serious intent. Recent RAF articles include the Gloster Javelin FAW9, the valiants of 543 Squadron and the Night Fighter Venoms. I also write about USAF subjects. At the publishers at the moment is an article on the Indian Air Force Exercise Shiksha, 1963, which involved RAF, RAAF, USAF and IAF units in an Air De-fence exercise. I am also keen on locating photographs of the Meteor NF11 and 13. I could not help but notice the superb colour photos whoich you have on your site and wonder if you would be willing to allow me to use any of

these with appropriate acknowledgement of course. When and if you

have the time I'll look forward to hearing from you. Best Regards, Doug Gordon.

Comments: In producing the Squadron News, I have had to trawl from many sources, and although we have now been an active association for 14 years I have had very few contributions about the lives of our mem-bers. This edition has really been an eye-opener and is very much more personal and specific to our squadron. We have the start of a serial about the life of Desmond Hughes (and more to come next edition). We have the continuing story about our current member, Terry Fen-some and his fascinating life story which he is currently sending to me a couple of pages at a time. And also we have the interesting yet sad story about the lottery that was National Service and how it had affect-ed a particular member like Alan Jennings. I think my prayers have just been answered, as I had a que-ry from a Frank Ferguson via the website, recently, enquir-ing about aircrew in 1943-4. On trying to get this information, I suddenly realised (always quick!) that he was actually a Navigator on our Squadron,during many of the actions seen by our Squadron. He has joined our select band and has said he might be able to add some info about those times. So welcome aboard Frank.

I thought I should belatedly, add this resume of Terry Fensome’s CV. As I felt it set the scene better for his continuing life story.

Captain Terry Fensome, Chairman and CEO of Pelican Flight Training has experience in all facets of aviation. His career in aviation spans eighteen years in the Royal Air Force and thirty eight-years in the airline and training industry serving as a line pilot, owner, and opera-tor. His teaching career extends from Oxford CSE, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. He has trained pilots in aircraft up to and including DC-10. Furthermore, he has held certification as an examin-er by both the U.S. and British aviation governing agencies. Former

President of Laker Airways (US), Arrow Air, Pelican Express and Vintage Airways, his combined aviation experience allows him insight into what makes a flight school successful. Both a service to the public and a potential re-

cruiting ground for the airlines. For the last 2 years, Captain Terry Fensome, head of the company, has been designing a complete new ATPL program in association with the FAA. Capt. Fensome has chosen the ALX to support and extend his ATPL program from PPL to Jet Orientation Course. As he explains: " Students who aspire to train for a career as a pilot in airlines all follow the same path through the General Aviation system: PPL, IR, CPL, Multi-Engine rating CFI and CFII

H M Armed Forces We Defy

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Editor: Geoff Faulkner, 8 Rosamond Avenue, Shipton Gorge, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4LN. Tel: 01308 897275 Email Squadron264@uwclub.net

A Plea: After producing this Squadron Newsletter for 14 years, I wonder if someone would take on the task of organis-ing the Reunions and the booking of hotel etc. As with my other Male Voice Choir, Choral Society and RAF National Service commitments, I’m beginning to feel that the pressure is getting to me. Obviously, I would help anybody who would take on this task, so they wouldn’t feel on their own. I optimistically await a del-uge of volunteers! (poor deluded fool that I am!) I do intend to try and keep the Squadron Newsletter going, as without it, there is no focal point for our asso-ciation..

Reunion 2014. May 31st/June 1st Saturday and Sunday

Well hopefully all is now sorted out for our Reunion and it will be soon here. It’s been a bit of an uphill struggle

this year but I really hope e�eryone is sa�s�ed and that we all ha�e a super ��e together. �s we grow older� I

think these links with our past �ake the� �ore i�portant. I count it a great pri�ilege to ha�e been instru�ental

in bringing together old friends and co�rades and also to �aking new friends. So that’s a good start� and just to

recap. It will be held at The Water�ill Hotel� Bourne End� He�el He�pstead� HP1 2RJ. We shall go to the R�F

Hendon Museu� on the Sunday (by coach) and the official Squadron Dinner will be on the Sunday e�ening. For

those who ha�e not attended before� I think

you’ll find we’re a friendly bunch and still �ery

proud of belonging and/or associated with 264

Squadron.

I think all those who ha�e agreed to a4end ha�e had all the

“bu�ph” fro� �e and hopefully the stage is set for a bu�per

reunion this year. More people ha�e decided to co�e this

year than before� so that’s great.

I would be �ery interested to ha�e any sugges�ons for the

central interest �enue for next year� so that we can �nd and book a hotel. Ob�iously we are conscious that as

we are ge9ng older and tra�el �ay be beco�ing �ore di:cult� so to be fair we try to get as central as we can�

to �ini�ize tra�el� but of course as we ha�e �e�bers in Yorkshire� De�on� Dorset and Essex so so�eone has to

tra�el a fair distance� so that can’t be helped.

Briefing Some years ago I printed this photograph of a briefing of B Flight aircrew back in 1954. as we have had some new Squadron members I thought I would stir up some of the grey cells to remind you of those days. From left to right: Can you help? Digger Turnbull, Warrant Officer Newman ?, Dave Danby, Dick Grant (sitting) and ?

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Continuing Capt Terry Fensome’s story: I was now 18 1/2 years old. 1957 on 264 is now a jumble of great memories. I specifically remember the boss as he was affectionately known, Squadron Leader Hugh Tudor who was liked by everyone and inspired teamwork from both flying and ground crews together, black flying suits and white boned domes with a comb of Squadron colours, nobody messed with 264, we seemed to spend our time doing all night stand by on the ARP, playing cards and waiting. There was no set working hours as I remember you just did what you had to do, but your Mete-or had to be serviceable all the time. Time off was spent by paying visits to the disgraced rooms in York. and pubs on the way there and back. I remember I had a Morris Cowley then and we planned a trip to the rooms in York when it refused to start. A friend of mine had just restored his Lanchester and offered to us to go out (not a good decision). As I was to be the designated driver which meant no more than 8 pints of Yorkshire bitter (I think that was a mandate three mini-mum before driving in those days). Off we went and everything went very well until coming back through the dark country roads, until the car decided it wanted to turn right down a small glitch through a hedge and all went black for an intoxicated ground crew in a car at night with no lights, eerily quiet and the first idea was to wind open one of the front windows but water rushed in. The opposite window was tried with the same result but lighting matches the one in the back found the water level was halfway up the back window, oh dear we had a short meeting and decided as the car would not completely underwater in the back which they confirmed, we should on the count of three open all doors and jump out I don’t remember much after that except we were sitting on the bank wet through and laughing. That was the effect of the Yorkshire bitter, we had to be towed the rest of the way as it would not start. The battery on this car was on the running board and it fell off into the lake stop I think Hugh Tudor left the squadron sometime in 1957 (is that correct Audrey?), We were destined to meet again a lot of years later. I stayed with the squadron until mid-1962. Those who shall be nameless change the number from 264 to 33 which nobody liked and then to 5 Squadron and nobody liked that either and we moved from Lin-ton on Ouse, to Middleton St George and then to Geilenkirchen In Germany. During this period I would do a fair amount of flying in the Meteors and Javelins. Going to fix them whenever they broke down, which was frequently, usually in Italy on the way back from some exercise or other. I remember one trip at some Italian base waiting for the Javelins to arrive from Cyprus and one came low over the airfield with some kind of trouble and was told he had to drop both his ventral tanks before he could land. On the second pass he did just that and everyone was showered with cartons of cigarettes and bottles of booze and the smelly stuff etc. (Ah those were the days!). All this exciting flying fired me up once more to be a pilot, so in May 1960 (22 years old) I went off to Jeadon (now a Leeds airport0 and found the Yorkshire flying club run by an ex-RAF WW2 Pilot called Arthur Carvel who had an old Taylorcraft. He agreed to defray my costs if I would clean and fix his aircraft. Deal done and it took me until 7th January 1962 before I got my license. I was now a pilot, that was sure to please the Queen. In March 1960 I was moved with the squadron to Geilenkirchen, Germany and continued doing the occasional flying fitter Javelin flights, But the best part was there was a flying club there with a Tiger Moth. I spent all my free time flying the Tiger Moth and running of the club along with a friend Flight Lieutenant Paddy Cullen. We flew aer-obatic glider towing as any excuse to fly. In June 1963 while towing a rather heavy glider one Sunday evening at an estimated 400 to 600 feet, the glider pilot let his nose come up and climbed over the top of me and the rope release handle did not work, So the rope came off him via his back release as it is designed to do on the winch launch. I headed earthwards but fortunately I managed to turn the aircraft round so I was on the outside not the inside before I hit the ground. I went forward and broke the hamas cable and knocked off the fuselage bit between the two cockpits. I crashed on the airfield in front of the fire department the firemen were all there playing football. What luck?, The demise of G-ANPL really depressed me. The RAF had nominated an accident report officer (A bit like the NTSB today). Who I didn’t know at that time, but thanks to the squadron reunion a few years ago, I found out it was Fred Packer. Fred and I seem to talk for two days at the reunion, unfortunately I haven’t seen him since and I hope to see him again as I really did enjoy chatting to him. Two days later I woke up with a complete loss of memory, some enterprising RAF man had taken some photo-graphs and came to the hospital and sold them to me for 27 shillings. I spent a number of months in the RAF hos-pital at Wegberg before they released me back to the station and the squadron, but I was not allowed to work due to the memory problem. Losing one’s memory is frustrating and I don’t recommend it, I do remember one incident however. During my recovery at Wegberg, My room was on the ground floor looking out on some grass area may be a golf or putting green with two large glass doors which were locked every night by the hospital guards !! I was never quite sure why, with me in bed with a cast on my left leg and my right arm and another one on my head and a memory that had stopped functioning completely. (Hardly tunnel digging material!)

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However I was told later that I was the entertainments boss in the corporals club at Geilenkirchen some 45 kms away. A few of the members had voted and decided to help me get my memory back they arrived after lock down one night and took me to the corporal’s club where a large party was in full swing. After a visit to my room to find some clothes that I could use. I can remember, I was taken to the bar and sat there drinking brandy and coke (Ugh!). Everyone’s conversation with me was aimed at my memory (or lack of it) and this soon became de-pressing so sometime around midnight or 1 AM I de-cided to go to get some fresh winter air. I apparently went out past the station guard room swinging along on my crutches down a long small road with large ditches on each side, which I believe went to a village called Teveren (I think) It was a very cold frosty night with clear skies and a true line the whole of the way. I woke up in bed in hospital again but this time nobody spoke English, This was a challenge not understand-ing what they said, and if I did, I would not be allowed to answer any of the questions.. Whatever happened to me I was told later was that I had been found in a ditch covered in frost (thank God for the brandies) with my busted leg sticking up in the air and was taken to some German Cottage Hospital. Checking with the medical centre at Geilenkirchen confirmed they had not lost any one. It took a couple of days before Wegberg faced up to having lost a patient after seeing my picture in a local German paper. Eventually after time served I was released back to the station but was not allowed to work on the Queen’s aircraft due to the memory problem. So I decided to work on my own aircraft after seeing the wreckage of G-ANPL which was still in a pile in a hangar, a very sad sight. In 199I think it was, a German vicar bought a number of Tiger Moths back to Germany and I decided to try and find enough Tiger Moth parts to build another one. I found a German registration of a fuselage (D-EDUM)And the con-tinuing my hunt, found a couple of Gypsy major engines and enough bits and pieces to start the rebuild. After the fuselage was completed, the test was to get the wings on and the wires in place at the right tension. This was probably the toughest part to do but eventually it came good. I did a couple of modifications along the way which would come to light 30 years later (ah well!) 28 August 1964 G-ASPZ was finished and has flown, it had taken about five months to rebuild and was painted

light blue stop I also never flew here again without a tin hat (bone dome). The next epic was to fly her to the UK for a full C of A. Later No-vember is not the ideal time to fly in an open cockpit aircraft from Germany to the UK, but I needed to get airborne in her again. As I remember, I left GielenkichenIn the early hours with some fog and snow on the ground and headed for Ghent In Belgium, Where it was snowing. A little refuelling there for the next leg and trying to get warm again. The snow had stopped, the next leg Ghent to Calais where another refuelling stop was made before crossing the Channel. Apart from a cold wind and the occasional snow shower, crossing the Channel was uneventful, Although I have to say you hear a lot of strange noises coming from the aircraft and engine particularly when you’re in the middle of the Channel think-ing I wish I could get higher. I landed at Biggin Hill in a stiff wind and parked on the ramp in front of a big hanger with Saywells writ-ten on it (I think that is what it said). It was the coldest I have ev-er been Despite the inner suit and the Sidcot suit And big furry boots and a long leather gloves it had penetrated all. Six hours

flying in an open cockpit in the winter you only do it once! That was enough now for the flight back. The ARB man came out the next day To inspect the aircraft but didn’t like the prop it was not as listed for the Gyp-sy Major engine, I believe he missed the two other Fensome mods. The man who had a small firm behind Say-wells saw me and offered to loan me a prop, as I didn’t have £49 to buy one, so that fixed the problem and the man came back and said “That’s better” and signed the C of A. and off he went. The man behind the hanger I believe converted Tiger Moths to other aircraft for the film industry (Blue Max comes to mind), I am ever thankful for his help, The trip back was an uneventful flight but still bitterly cold weather in which I lost my map overboard crossing Dunkirk due to very cold fingers. .

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Planning is everything so always take 2 maps. The route back was Biggin Hill - Calais- Ghent – Laarbruch- Gielenkirchen. When I left Gielenkirchen to go to the UK I didn’t not tell anyone I was going just in case they said no . The Station Commander got very miffed I was told! So when I left Bigging Hill going back I was sure to send him a telex with my arrival time OOPS .having to drop off the guy in the front seat at Laarbruch put me behind schedule so I didn’t arrive when I said I would So it was dark and very cold the Tiger didn’t have lights or radios or a map in this case so navigation was kind of a secondary thing flying over a black countryside, and the cold lulled you into a carefree attitude. Then all of a sudden a whole bunch of airport lights went on out off the left wing with a lovely long runway all lit up. That was a no brainer as they say now, so I landed, it was Gielenkirchen.

Now the story goes that as this Tiger had not shown up on its arrival time when it got dark the Station Com-mander turned off the lights and was on the tower with a group of guy listening for the sound of the gypsy major engine When they heard it they put all the lights on which was just as well I would have gone sailing on. The landing was uneventful except I was so cold I could not get out of the aircraft so I was given a large brandy and a two week ‘No flying’ suspension from the Station commander. But he did it with a twinkle in his eye.

I flew the Tiger Moth quite a lot before I left my last flight on 19/4/1965. With a friend in the passenger seat called Roger Greegan who I believe went on to great things with BA.

I finally left my 264 /33/5 Squadron in early 1966 to be a Flight Engineer on the Handley Page Hastings now there was a step forward in technology. I finished training in April 1966 and was shipped off to 70 Squadron Cy-prus the Hastings was a delightful aircraft to operate. We flew a trip around just about every airport in the Middle East which took a month that was the IDC college tour the first time in a Hastings. To keep a Hastings away from its maintenance hangar for a whole month flying every day was no mean feat. But a great trip. And on schedule the whole way around

I must mention a fellow flight engineer on the squadron his name was M/E Bert Poulton who like me had his private pilot license. We found a couple of piper tri pacers in boxes which had been left with no owners. So we unpack them them and set up the Cyprus flying club at Nicosia. I believe Bert and I got the first Cypriot licences We trained in used the aircraft for parachute dropping 3 guys at a time

My next move was to the brand new shiny VC10 in 1968 the first ground school was at BOAC Cranebank at Heathrow About 3 months I think. Then on to RAF Brize Norton for another course where we had to learn the RAF way of doing things I think we were the first none shiny crew to be sent there a Shackleton Captain.(Nick Nichols) A V bomber co pilot(Gordon Ness) a Hastings engineer (yours truly) and a navigator from Argosy, I think, (Harry Plaistow).

I stayed on the VC 10 until 1972.the reception wasn’t the greatest I have had, it was indicated that they didn’t expect us to pass the exams coming for the Hastings etc. but we did What else that else could you do after all that training at BOAC and Brize Norton? Our first long trip was to take some high ranking CIC to Hong Kong and on to Australia. This was our first route qualifying flight let loose on our own. Everything went well until we were 1 hr out of Malta when I noticed a drop in power on the number two engine. After meeting of the minds and not wishing to cause further problems with this new shiny VC10 we shut the engine down, and landed at Luqa. After reporting the problem to the transit flight W/O I was told they had never had this aircraft through there and they had no staff to work on it and didn’t know much about it except they did have some tools and a spare basic engine somewhere in the stores.

Nick said we had 72 hrs on the ground there what did I suggest we do. In true Hasting fashion I said we will have to change it. So with Nick, Harry, Gordon and one bod from TASF we put a schedule together and worked round the clock to change it. The tooling we found were still wrapped in the awful brown greasy sticking paper the engine in the same preserved state never been unpacked. A basic engine is just that. No major compo-nents - they had to be removed from the old engine and refitted to the new one. CSD. Generator. Starter. Oil tank plus a few other bits and pieces. On the VC10 the engines are high up under the tail so lowering one and lifting the new one into position became a challenge which we resolved with the help of a Coles Crane we bor-rowed from the Army there After engine runs and adjustments the only thing we could not get to work was the reverser. So we wire locked it inoperative. Now it came to the paper work, the one weak link. I entered into the RAF Form 700 (the Techlog in present day language) To be continued�...

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A rather spectacular picture of 264 Squadron taken from above, maybe early evening 1956

Before Take-Off of the last flight of 264 Squadron

RAF Middleton St Geoge to RAF Leeming –26th September 1959

Derek Wilde:

Sadly I have to report the passing of a recent new member Derek Wilde. His funeral was at Grenoside Crematorium,

Sheffield on the 1st March. Donations to St. Luke's Hospice. I have no other information on him I’m afraid, but Bob

tacey sent a card and donation from the Squadron. (John Fairest, Funeral Home, 10/56 Penistone Road North,

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I am indebted to Geoff Turner for sending me this picture of 264 Ground crew at Acklingtom. I thought it was 1955 but can’t remember when the Mk 11’s went and we had Mk 14’s, so it could be 1954, any help in naming chaps? Person-ally I would like to contact Phil Ovenden (A) Chiefy Lamb (B) I missed this photo shoot as on the forward party there, when the Squadron flew in and on refuelling, I slipped getting out of the cockpit for the 700, I broke my arm, hand and thumb, so was shipped back to Linton (well it got me off parades!)

I stand corrected!

Following my item about 264/33 Sqdn. Mervyn Troake, kindly corrected my comments, for which I thank him. (Got to get my facts right!) Hi Geoff,

Many thanks once again for the latest Newsletter..

I would like to clarify the matter relating to 264/33 Sqns.264 did NOT amalgamate with 33, it BECAME 33 and no personnel came from 33 to 264. Duncan Sands, the then Defence Minister announced cuts early in 1957 which meant the disbandment of several RAF squadrons. The powers that be decided to keep the longest serving units, which meant the lowest squadron numbers would survive. The exception was 617 Sqn because of Dambuster fame.

33 were operating Venoms from Leconfield and while I am not sure, they could still have been still flying the NF2, with the older Mk 10 radar. It was decided that 33 would go and was disbanded, with personnel being posted elsewhere at Her Majesty’s discretion! However, the number was allocated to 264 Sqn which had to give up that illustrious number.

As you know from the photo sent to you by Barry Hedger, son of my old pilot Jack, 264 carried out it’s last flight on 26 September 1957.At 1100 that day, 12 Meteor NF 14s, under the command of the CO Wg Cdr Jock Forbes DFM, took off from Middleton St George. We formed three boxes of four, with Jack and I leading the second box. We flew low level over Darlington and 45 minutes later landed at Leeming as 33Sqn. There we stayed while runway work was carried out at Middleton.

We were the same people under the same Boss but had to repaint the aircraft {and Bone Domes) in 33Sqn colours. The only thing I remember getting from the old 33, was a 1930s Austin hearse, which was painted in squadron colours and used as a squadron bus on various boozy outings1 It had “ Bottle Honours” painted on the side.

I only flew one month on 33 as I was sent off to attend the Staff Navigator Course and became a navigation instructor at Thorney Island.

Jock Forbes left the squadron not long after, to be replaced by Wg Cdr Norman Poole, a navigator who crewed up with my old pilot Jack Hedger, A Flight Commander. It was not long before 33 converted to the Javelin

One final point on new members. Is Mike Richards Wg Cdr (Retd) who lives near me here in Cornwall and was Head of the Hel-ston RAFA branch? I have not seen him for years but we were instructors together at Thorney. You also mentioned Jim Straughan. who I remember as a navigator and not pilot as stated in the newsletter.

I very much enjoy reading the newsletter and am sorry I have never been able to attend any reunion. It is just too far for me to drive these days.

Kind regards. Mervyn Troake

A B

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I am indebted to Paddy Hughes for sending me extracts from his Father’s book, it has been with me about 2 years now, but for one reason or another I couldn’t get it printed. That’s sorted now, so enjoy the serial edition of Desmond Hughes’s time with our Squadron.

'WE DEFY'

Old Saru� turned out to be quite a pre4y li4le sta�on nestling close to the old Ro�an fort fro� which

it took its na�e. The air�eld was all grass� �uch of it sloping apart fro� a fairly e�en run parallel to the

hangars. I think the Mess and the hangars both dated back to the Great War - the la4er s�all e�en by

1940 standards but the �ess

spacious and �ery co�fortable.

We found that the School of �r�y Co-opera�on had two types of aircraB - the Lysander� the high-

winged� purpose-built but desperately �ulnerable aircraB with �agni�cent downward �eld of �iew� and

the old Hector which was basically an �udax with a Napier Dagger engine strapped to it� �uch �ore

powerful than the Hinds we had all Eown. We were told we would do half the course on one aircraB

and then switch o�er and co�plete it on the other. �ll this was against the Bri�sh �r�y fro� Dunkirk� a

�asterful withdrawal against all the odds which was reported to the na�on as a sort of �ictory. �ll at

Old Saru� were wondering if there was going to be an eFec��e �r�y with which to co- operate when

our training was co�plete.

I started on the Hector which was quite exci�ng to Ey� fair leaping oF the grass and able to cli�b away

steeply. I Eew two trips a day for four days� all of which were low-le�el reconnaissance Eights o�er Salis-

bury Plain during which we had to locate s�all objects such as dew ponds� �ark the� on our �aps and

record six-�gure �ap

referencesG on the occasions we had to Eyo�er railway sta�ons and count the trucks and engines lying

there� or go to a �ap reference and report what was to be seen on the ground. This was all �ildly en-

tertaining but the talk in the Mess was �ostly on the subject of why we werenHt learning to Ey SpiIires.

I had �y last Eight at Old Saru� on �y 21 st birthday� which a bunch of us celebrated at a delighIul

pub down on the ri�er� the HRose and CrownH at Harnha�� where we had a �eal (a ��e shilling one� I

see� to re�e�ber) and a pint or two. Going back to Old Saru� in HPheli�H� we were a happy crowd of

se�en� all ha�ing �anaged to get aboard the li4le four-seater. �s we ca�e through the centre of Salis-

bury� serenading the city as we went� we were wa�ed down by a young constable who suggested the

car was a triEe o�erloaded. � �oice fro� so�ewhere behind �e� which I suspect was that of Da�id Sco4

-Malden� said� with co��endable clarity: "Well� chaps� which

shall we ha�e �rst - his hel�et or his trousers?" The young copper suddenly grinned and said "Go on�

then ..... but donHt do it again. So�eone �ight fall outM" So oF we went and �nished our li4le hooley in

the Mess.

I didnHt Ey any �ore at Old Saru� because

next day we were told that Hthe powers that

beH had co�e to the sa�e conclusions as our-

sel�es - there would be no job for us if we

�nished the course. We were to go into

Fighter Co��and and our �rst pos�ng was

to be to No N Opera�onal Training Onit

COTO) at �ston Down. So� aBer handing in all

our �r�y Co-op training �anuals and paying

our �ess bills� we �ade our �arious ways to

the lo�ely countryside near Stroud. I loaded

up HPheli�H and had a �ery pleasant dri�e by

way of the pre4y Wye �alley� War�inster

and Bath� only slightly regreIul that I had not e�en had one ride in a Lysander.

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N OTO was under the co��and of W g Cdr HBullH Halahan� who had brought back No 1 Squadron fro�

France and had been pro�oted into this job� bringing se�eral 1 Sqn pilots with hi� as instructors.

These included Johnny Walker and Prosser Hanks.

When we arri�ed there were lots of SpiIires to be seen Eying around so our spirits were high as we

se4led into our quarters. Fighter Co��and at last� and SpiIires at thatM Howe�er� �y euphoria was to

be short-li�ed.

When we reported to Eights on the 10lh of June� before we had e�en handed in our logbooks� we

found three lists of na�es allo9ng us to �� Band C Flights. The na�es of Bailey� Hughes� Pnocker and

Percy were down for C Flight� which was annotated HDe�antsH. When we protested that we wanted to

Ey SpiIires� we were re�inded that the squadron we were to join� 264� had shot down QR ene�y air-

craB in one day o�er Dunkirk and that we should feel pri�ileged to ha�e been selected for it. That�

co�ing fro� HBullH Halahan� was thatM

When we got to HCH Flight we found that their De�ants had only �ery recently arri�ed and that none of

the instructors had pre�iously Eown the�. Thus� aBer two dual Eights and one solo in a Ba4le trainer�

which bore not the slightest rese�blance in handling or anything else to the De�ant� we were oF on

our own and soon had �ore hours on the aircraB than had any of the staF. I �rst Eew De�ant Ll 0Q2

on the 14th June and had four trips in her that day and se�en �ore in her un�l the four of us leB �ston

Down. �Ber two trips on the 19th

of June� we were told to get on our way to

264 at Duxford. We had learnt how to Ey the aircraB - only 264 could teach us how to �ght in it. In our

�arious cars (.Ta�es Bailey had a Morris Minor and Hugh Percy a �agni�cent Q-litre green Bentley) we

scorched across country to Duxford. I arri�ed at the Mess just before dark to �nd a happy party in pro-

gress� with the sta�on co��ander� Wg Cdr � B Woodhall� leading the singing on his piano-accordion.

We were told they were celebra�ng a success the night before when one of the pilots of 19 Sqn had

shot down a Heinkel III with his SpiIire� the sta�onHs �rst night �ictory. Tankards of beer were thrust

into our eager hands and we were war�ly welco�ed into our new squadron.

Next day we reported �rst to the Squadron �djutant� a

for�er school�aster na�ed Pi�ber� who see�ed �ery

elderly but can only ha�e been in his early thir�es. He

had a nice dry sense of hu�our and was �ery good at

his job - an unEappable� capable ad�inistrator. We

then �et the CO for�ally� who allo4ed Ji� Bailey and

�yself to � Flight and Roddy Pnocker and Hugh Percy

to B Flight. Philip Hunter was an i�pressi�e character�

dark� good-looking� enthusias�c and self-con�dentG he

wore the single red-and-blue ribbon of the DSO which

he had won o�er Dunkirk. He had e�ol�ed the special

tac�cs needed to �ght with the De�ant� which had no

�xed guns �ring forwards� just four .Q0Q Brownings in

the power turret. He clearly had the total de�o�on of his aircrew� who� he led with such elan to con-

siderable success. When we joined� 264Hs o:cial score was 6N ene�y aircraB destroyed and this had

included a clai� of QR destroyed in two patrols on one day. I say Hclai�H ad�isedly because though on

QR occasions gunners will ha�e engaged ene�y aircraB with probably spectacular success� al�ost cer-

tainly se�eral of the aircraB seen to ha�e been destroyed will ha�e been hit by �ore than one turret�

par�cularly when engaging large for�a�ons of bo�bers.

This is not to suggest that any false clai�s were inten�onally �ade but that in the heat of ba4le so�e

�ul�-clai�ing was ine�itable. Be that as it �ay� 264 had the highest total on the scoreboard which the

sta�on had erected at the Main Gate on the Royston-New�arket roadG their tails were well up and

the had great con�dence in their aircraB.

9

H�H Flight co��ander was Flt Lt John Banha�� a big teddy-bear of a �an� who didnHt cha4er a lot. I soon ca�e to

know that what he had to say was worth listening to. He was a sound leader in the air and on the ground. The oth-

er pilots were young short-ser�ice o:cers� �ost of who� had been founder �e�bers when the squadron had

been for�ed at the end of 19Q9 under Sqn Ldr Stephen Hardy. The �ost talka��e of these was Terry Walsh� a red-

head with pale blue protuberant eyes� whose whites were per�anently pinkG I �ade the �ajor error of lending

hi� HPheli�H one e�ening and he returned it with a broken hood-fra�e which I was ne�er able to repair. I was ne�-

er able either to get any �oney out of hi� as he was per�anently HbrokeH but I ha�e ne�er since lent a car to any-

one outside �y fa�ily. � �ore reliable type was Mike Young� who talked plenty of sound co��onsense and was

willing to pass on ad�ice to us new boys. This also went for HBullH Whitley� a tall well-built chap fro� Bangor in

County Down with who� I soon had a good rela�onshipG he went out of his way to befriend Ji� Bailey and �yself.

I was allo4ed a gunner fro� a bunch of New Sealanders who joined 264 at that ��e� all s�ll ranked as Leading

�ircraB�en. His na�e was Bill Crook. Though he was probably a sound enough gunner� he was stolid to the ex-

tent of being �onosyllabic and de�oid of any sense of hu�our� �ost un-Piwi like. We got on well enough� I sup-

pose� but I was not sorry when� at the end of July� the Gunnery Leader did so�e switching and I acquired Sgt Fred

Gash in his place.

Fred was a cheerful Lancastrian with a bubbling sense of hu�our and an infec�ous laughG he soon beca�e �ery

popular on the squadron. We see�ed to HclickH as a crew fro� our �rst trip and it was �ery encouraging that he

was able to shoot a lot of holes in the drogue target when we went air-�ring out o�er the Wash. We were to Ey

together for so�e 1T �onths un�l I leB the squadron to go onto Beau�ghters and we ha�e kept in touch to this

day. I also later had the great pleasure of knowing his son� Christopher� who passed through �y hands as a na�iga-

tor Eight cadet at Cranwell. Fred and I greatly enjoyed the occasion of ChrisHs gradua�on.

Back to 264 .... the i��ediate priority was to get the new boys opera�onal and to this end we Eew at least two

trips a day - for�a�on Eying� cli�bs to 2N�000 feet� air �ring� aeroba�cs� dog-�gh�ng - and were soon designatedH

day opera�onalH. On July the 1 st I carried out �y �rst real opera�ons� Eying con�oy patrols oF the East coast fro�

Martlesha� Heath. These were pre4y boring but we were told that the sailors appreciated the odd sight of us and

there was always the chance that a sneak raider �ight pop out of cloud and try to �ake an a4ackG I ne�er saw

one� howe�er� On the 22nd

July ca�e a �o�e north to Pirton Lindsey - to our considerable annoyance� as things

were just beginning to get interes�ng in the Duxford sector as well as further south. This �ay ha�e had so�ething

to do with the beginnings of Douglas BaderHs

Duxford HBig WingH but if so we were not told at the ��e.

To be con�nuedUUU.

�s usual� we are indebted to Bob Tacey for his concise and accurate su��ary of our accounts and of

which I a� par�cularly grateful� as I’� not �uch good a accountancy�

264 Squadron Association.—Summary of Accounts. 2013 Balance B/F from 2012 = £1409.61 Expenditure from 01/01/13 = £0699.75

Income from 01/01/13 = £0687.97 Remaining balance on 14/10/13= £1397.83

Total = £2097.58 Total= £2097.58

Anyone who would like a copy of the accounts- please contact me.: Bob Tacey, 22 Westland Road,

Cottesmore, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 7DT

Income Amount Expenditure Amount

Subs & donations 272.70 RAFATRAD Ltd advert. 003.50

Bank interest 000.27 Marshalls Coaches 360.00

Sale of badges at Reunion 073.00 Dupliquick Limited. 092.80

Coach fares at Reunion 275.00 J’s Ink. 041.35

Hotel repay W Griffiths. 050.00 Family-Crests.com 116.10

Badges. 017.00 Sec. Expenses. 041.00

Hotel cancellation. 045.00

10

Recently I had a letter from a new member Alan Jennings, who was called up for National Service in 1944. In his introductory letter he told me of the shock that his call-up caused. I asked him to do a short article for the Squadron News, which he kindly did (and told me off for my spellingN.bloody cheekN.but he was correct!). So here is his story. In 1944 when the inevitable conscription approached, I was eagerly awaiting call up into the RAF. I had vol-unteered for and had been accepted to serve in the RAF.Any other option had not entered my mind. Howev-er, my destiny had been decided when in December 1943, Ernest Bevin, wartime Minister of Labour had an-nounced that as a result of the critical shortage of both call and miners that from henceforth 10% of con-scripts would be forced to work in the coal mines. When the expected buff envelope arrived there heading “ coal mining call up ’ is meant that instead of going up I was going down! After completing a woefully inadequate “ training “ at the Oakdale colliery training camp, I was directed to work at the Albion colliery,Cilfynydd. It was no comfort to learn that this colliery was the scene of one of the worst mining disasters when on Saturdaythe 23rdOf June 1894 an explosion killed 290 men and boys. This was surpassed bySenghenydd in 1913 when 439 miners were killed. The album was a very deep mine, the two shafts were sunk to a depth of nearly 700 yards.

As I was living at home in Cardiff the day started at 5 AM in order to catch the 5.45 am Aberdare busWhich picked up the miners at each stop before depositing the Albion miners in time to plunge down the shaft at 30 ft./s. The drop was sud-den and dramatic. Pit bottom was lit by electricity and a whitewashed. The only cold to be seen was in the fall drams or waiting to be hauled to the surface. The bright pit bottom was short lived as he am expected to mild threat to the coalface was along a pitch black time with tramlines underfoot and hazards overhead from distorted roof supports.On reaching the coalface I was to be the collier’s Assis-tant to a middle aged seasoned Colli-er. The conditions were horrendous. The scene was only 3-4 feet in height.

The coalface was dusty, dirty, noisy and dangerous or stop their handheld lamp gave a minimum of light so the work was carried out in the semi darkness. As the collier hacked the coal from the face It gave off clouds of throat choking dust It was my task was to shovel the call on to a conveyor belt from a kneeling position for the hours of the shift. As the collier’s paid depended On the square yardage of cold cuts the work was relentless and for the first time in my life I experienced what hard labour really meant. I survived 18 months of this work when I was promoted to “ meas-urer “. I was responsible for the allocation of stints To each Collier along the entire length Of the coal face. In addition my calculations determined the pay of each collier at the end of the week. I did this work and many others on the coalface until my release from the mines. The question arises, was the Bevin scheme a success? What contribution did the 48,000 conscripts achieve? The vast majority hated the work and yet the ex-perience gave the Bevin boys a unique insight into the life of the average miner. Six days a week, poor financial reward, in constant danger, breathing in fowl dust laden air stop working in dangerous conditions breeds a camaradie Which is sel-dom exists in industry today. Conscripts left the minds with a deep respect for the miners stop On my release within a few weeks I was in the RAF and after square bashing at Compton Bassett, Wiltshire I was sent to serve in the orderly room in 264 Squad-ron at Linton on Ouse. I was with the squadron for nine months from September 1946 to June 1947, when the squadron was sent to Lubecke in Germany And I embarked on a 12 month radar fitters course at Yatesbury. Thank you for that insight in what was obviously a terrible experience Alan. It did remind me of a visit to RAF Lyneham and talking to the Aircrew who expressed interest in the basis of conscription. It was absolutely out of their to grasp that you had little, if any choice as to what service you were allocated or what trade you fin-ished in. Their comment was “I wouldn’t have accepted that!”, we couldn’t make them understand you had to do what you were told then, there was NO choice in those days. Oh dear do I sound like a cynical 80 year oldN.sorry

11

They're Back! Church Bulletins: Thank God for church ladies with typewriters -- misspellings, bad sentence construction or choice of words all make for fun reading. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

• The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

• The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

• Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the

house. Bring your husbands.

• The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

• -Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

• Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

• For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

• The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: "Break Forth Into Joy."

• Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that be-

gan in their school days.

• At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to

• Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

• The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

• Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.

• The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Fri-

day afternoon.

• This evening at 7 PM there will be hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and

come prepared to sin.

• Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship

Hall after the B. S. is done.

• The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the

pancake breakfast next Sunday.

• Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

• The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The

congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

• Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the

side entrance.

• The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My

Pledge - Up Yours!