The 'Introduce yourself' Thread

Welcome Taff71,

If you are doing post-WW2 research you might come across the function of the modified building in the bomb store as discussed in the Woodhall Spa thread.

Thanks Mawganmad I'm guessing you have the book "The Long Drag" by Don Evans, there's some peachy photos of 7 Squadron Canberras in it!! Out of curiosity, is it just the Canberra period you're interested in, or the whole of 7 Squadron's history?

Hi Greg BD = Boscombe Down !(sorry lazy typing on my part ; )
Yes some of the guys on the Boneyard at Marham were ex 85 so the banter continued for some time LOL

cheers baz

Thanks Baz!! I've just been doing some reading tonight on W/C Dave Holford, one-time C.O. of 100 and something of a 1 Group celebrity in the first half of WW2. He also spent some time at BD (see what I did there?!) flight-testing the Warwick in, I think, early 1943.

Thanks again

I do believe Mablethorpe, or at least the skies above it, were the rendezvous point for 1 Group aircraft to form up and make height before setting out across the North Sea in WW2

I am new here and desperately seeking help tracing records of an incident involving a Blenheim IV serial YH-P6954 on 28th July 1941 swanton morley . The incident is in the book by Chorley but cant find any records in the orbs for squadron 21 raf bomber command . Can anyone help?

Thankyou all,

I am doing the activity on 21 Jan. Three areas: Petwood Hotel, RAF Woodhall itself and the bomb store in Ostlers. The bomb store is my stand as I have not got an expert to talk on it, so hopefully come up with some material so many thanks for the links.

Info: I will also post images of the LCP if anyone would like them up here?

Taff

Hi Michele
You could register on the 'RAF Commands Forum' and ask on there - some very knowledgable guys on there !

rafcommands.com

rgds baz

Hello. A brief history and family history.
My father was ex RAF just after the war, never detailed what unit but stores/motor transport is all I can guess. He was involved with recovery of some of our ordnance from Holland. Later he worked at Heathrow prior to BAA being formed and related odd tales one of being chased off a taxiway by an Air India Constellation whilst on sweeper duty... close enough to loose the radio antenna.

As for me I remember early visits to Heathrow in the early 60s, watching BEA Argosys climbing out over Kingston from home and an early visit to Thorney Island and watching a Beverly flying the circuit, and several Argosys parked up for the weekend. Joined the local ATC Squadron underage and never looked back. Visits to the big Abingdon display, Chivenor (hunter ocu), Scampton (Vulcans), Fairford (C130s and Concorde) and my final camp, out to RAFG Gutersloh with a day trip to the Mohne dam. Well that paired the dambuster links together.
'71 saw me chasing apprenticeships BAC Weybridge declined -too young, BOAC dropped me early but BEA gave me the thumbs up. Viscounts, the merchant Vanguards and all (post Papa India's Staines incident) BEAs Tridents. The incoming and outgoing of the Tristars. I moved off of aircraft as the 737s arrived and left in '81.
My Mother and future stepfather were working at Hawkers Kingston during that period.
Moved down to Gosport a couple of years later finding work at Vosper Thorneycroft and then returned to aviation in '89 with Dan Air at Lasham, leaving there as FLS sold us on to ATC.
Fleetlands were interested, security clearance took ages, nearly walked away but finally came through. 17 years of Lynx and Gazelles finally got too much and I was ready to get out. The Vector take over and sell out to EADS wasn't giving a great promise to the future. Won a redundancy check and took a summer off.
Currently I'm playing with Britten Norman on the Lee on Solent airfield, building and maintaining Islanders and Defenders. Many of the staff are keen historians either on their types worked on and/or locations.

As for some local urban myths;
Fleetlands does have a scrap pit but only light spares that was in-filled at Foxbury point by the pier, instruments and paint. A slight radiation background is evident 60 day and you have a full count
Grange/ Sultan as it now is, alleged aircraft pit near the community dump on Grange Road?
Back to Lasham. Opposite the Dans/ATC hangers as you walk into the woods, service issue shoes were often seen on the ground, belief of scrap pits in the fields behind the gliding club hangers but not yet found.

Regards
Alan