Recent changes.

14th December 2018

Rob Knotts sent this to me with the request to publish, and I am very pleased to be able to do just that.

THREE CHEERS FOR THE MAN ON THE GROUND

Composed by RAF Wireless Operator, Flight Mechanic Eric Sykes in 1942

Three Cheers for the Man on the Ground
Wherever you walk, you will hear people talk
Of the men who go up in the air.
Of the dare-devil way they go into a fray,
Facing death without turning a hair.

They’ll raise a cheer and buy lots of beer
For the pilot who’s come home on leave.
But they don’t give a jigger
For the Flight Mechanic or Rigger
With nothing but ‘Props’ on his sleeve.

They just say ‘Nice Day’ and then turn away
With never a mention of praise
And the poor little Erk
Who does all the work
Just orders his own beer – and pays!

They’ve never been told
Of the hours in the cold
That he spends sealing Germany’s fate.
How he works on the ‘kite’
Till all hours of the night,
And still turns up for work at eight.

He gets no rake-off
For working till take-off
Or helping the aircrew prepare.
But when there is trouble,
Its ‘Quick at the double’,
The man on the ground must be there.

Each flying crew member
Could confirm it as true,
That they know what this man’s really worth.
They know he’s a part of the RAF’s heart,
Even though he stays close to the earth.

He doesn’t want glory,
But please tell his story,
Spread a bit of his fame around;
He‘s still one of the ‘Few’ – so give him his due:
And‘Three cheers for the man on the ground!’

On a different note, I have to thoroughly recommend the sentiments of Pete Adams and Jeff Richardson at the last reunion. They informed us of the Defence Discount Services Card which had just saved Pete over £50, I applied for a card and received it very quickly. Since then it has saved me almost £40 and I still have 4.5 years to go. A real bargain, thanks guys.

17th August 2018 The fact that the Royal Air Force is shrinking is obvious to most of us, but Fred Munson feels that he may be partly responsible. Halton, Upwood, Seletar, Scampton, Labuan, Kinloss, Muharraq and Tangmere were his posted stations and they have all closed. He thinks it is perhaps as well that he only did 12 years !!

06th August 2018 Another good reunion has been and gone, thanks go to John Horan and Les Phillips for organising the trip to Brooklands.
Apart from normal AGM business a couple of interesting subjects were raised by members. Rob Knotts has recently been awarded a considerable grant of monies to purchase new and complex hearing aids. The URL to find out more on the subject is " https://www.uk-veterans-hearing-help.co.uk/finance?imt=1&utm_campaign=search&utm_source=adrac&utm_medium=ppc&utm_content=&utm_term=veterans+hearing+fund" Good luck.
Pete Adams and Jeff Richardson showed us an impressive services discount card, which saved Pete over £50 on a back axle for his "garage roof" scimitar. These cards can be used in multiple areas, they cost £4.99 and are valid for 5 years. The cards can be obtained by going to the website "www.defencediscountservice.co.uk" and filling in the required details.
Two other sites that may be of use to you are www.veteransgateway.org.uk telephone 0808 802 1212 and www.veterans-uk.info telephone 0808 1914 218

19th April 2018 More bad news I'm afraid. Graham (ginger) Scott died earlier this month after a short illness with Liver cancer, the funeral is at Bramcote Crematorium, near Ilkeston, Derbyshire at 1145 Friday, 4 May.

9th March 2018 After the notification of the next reunion was sent out Ruth Fowlie contacted us with the sad news that Ron passed away on 27th July last year. Ron joined up with us all as an Engine fitter but decided it wasn't for him. He became a Boy Entrant and remustered to the wonderful trade of rigger. Retiring from the RAF as a Cpl/Tech in 1971.

14th February 2018 Two more of our members have unfortunately become ex members. Frank Hedgcock and Bob Ellis have died over the last year but we have only just found out.

18th January 2018 Seems to me that John Menday is doing a lot of digging at the moment. He informs me that Ted Maidment shuffled off this mortal coil in September 2016, so yet another member has bitten the dust.

12th January 2018 It is always upsetting when we discover that someone has passed away, but for some reason slightly less so when it happened a few years ago.
Dave Williams has just informed me that after much searching for a two wing buddy, he has discovered that 682480 David Taylor Baillie (Angus) died fourteen years ago in Hertfordshire on 18th June 2004. R.I.P Angus.

1st January 2018 Happy New Year to all our readers.

END