Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference.

[wonwinglo]

***Well Martin they all have a place,some are displayed in cabinets and are rotated,the rest are placed into sealable bags and stored,they only come out if I do a display or support one,a few hang around my den,one day I would like to display them on shelves showing the history of aviation,my flying models are in my hangars ( sheds) my wife is used to my model building antics so I guess that I am lucky in that respect ! Some of my models are also on display in aviation museums so continue to give pleasure to others.

As you can guess I have been modelling a very long time.

Hi Barrysad question here. What do you do with all these models you build? Her indoors wouldn,t be please if it were me. l.o.l

Martin

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-About research,data,information,resources for model building and how .



On average we get more requests for plans,data,colourschemes etc than for any other subject,a request for a particular scheme worn by an aircraft flown by a builders father,an aeroplane that the person had a flight in years ago,cockpit details for a particular type or a technical specification or plan for an individual type ? now let me say this,and this is very important all model builders of scale subjects should throughly research the model they intend to build,not only this but the should be able to put together a dosier of that machine photographs,cuttings and sketches,plans,3-view drawings should all be there,such information can be obtained in many ways but one factor comes into all of the equation,and that is 'Time' something that very few of us have enough of ! the secret is to gradually gather that said information over the years,just as our model building can be a slow process then so also is the gathering of priceless information,for one I realised long ago that sorting through thousands of magazines simply was not the answer,so I set about organising my collection of pictures,photographs and plans once and for all,this was over 40 years ago,and since that time my library has grown and takes up a small closet ( see picture above ) each folder is clearly labelled with the manufacturers name,placed into alphabetical order so that access is easy,now I can reach for a particular folder and plough through information regarding that subject,add notes and plans at whim,it works believe me !

There are numerous resources available to everyone who has the desire to obtain information,you can apply for a readers research ticket at the countries numerous archives and libraries and museums,even local archives are a mine of information,last year I spent every Friday on research at my local archives researching details of our local airport for my web site,this was needed to supplement photographs that I had taken whilst working at that particular airport,it proved a very fruitful exercise if not time consuming and at times tedious getting the exact material that I needed,sometimes it needed to be ordered weeks in advance,but that is all part of the fun,once you stumble upon what you want then its bingo !

Local newspaper offices shpuld also not be ignored either,all of them carry their own archives even if not copies of their publications then microfliche film or hopefully computer records of events,machines and people in that community.

The internet provides the very best but not the only source of info,sometimes it will lead you to a professional library where you have to pay money,but if the subject is important enough to you then that is a small price to pay,libraries and buildings where archives are kept cost money to run so keep this in mind during your research.

Sometimes you hit really lucky and find individual people who are connected with your project,for example only last year I typed in the name of someone and up came a family tree,this led me to the daughter of the person I was looking for,subsequent communications revealed a whole host of info despite the person in question being quite elderly,he was however delighted that I had tracked him down,this chance meeting enabled me to fill in some precious details for which I was truly grateful for my project.

One word about such events,always hold every respect for locating such people or information sources,rather than bulldoze straight in get to know the people that you are dealing with first,normally things will just happen and take their course and you could be quite surprised as to what is forthcoming,faded but precious pictures from yesteryear at the least,make notes and sketches,and always return material that has been loaned for your use soon as possible,in other words have the utmost respect for people and their personal possessions.

In a lot of cases details of long lost material can be located this way,it is up to you to spend time and put effort into what you research,but be warned,not everyone will respond usefully and provide you with unlimited material,or above all show the same enthusiasm as yourself !

The golden rule when looking for info is this-Always exhaust all possible normal avenues of research available to you,if the plan,photograph or knowledge is not forthcoming then more in-depth work is required,you are the sleuth and above all you are the one who needs the information.

From personal experience in my own extensive research over the years it has proved a most interesting task,sometimes interspersed with flustration and the end of the road,but get it right and you will get a real sense of a job well done.

The internet gets better every day as more enthusiasts and people come on board,that mine of knowledge can now sometimes be shared from the comfort of your own home,but remember still be prepared to do some footwork for the information that you require,best of luck !

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Part 1 of how I finally managed to get here !



Poignant reminder of times past ( 1938 ) -think of the scene the person sitting on the horse and cart on the left is my father,note that he is in full R.A.F uniform,on leave for the very first time and obviously very proud,his father is the one standing,a coal merchant delivering his wares,the cart looks home made from the chassis of a vehicle,his two beloved horses were his pride and joy,he cared for them making up tinctures of dubious value for looking after the horses of the Gipsy community and anyone who needed his help as a quack horse doctor .

Well you asked for it,here is part one of my very own story,warts and all,so lets start seven years before I was even a twinkle in my mothers eyes-

To understand a little of my really early days we must go back to the year of 1938,war clouds were looming in Europe as Mr Hitler gathered together his arsenal,meanwhile the government were frantically trying to muster together personnel and crews for the Army,Navy and Air force,the carefree pre-war days with sports cars and lovely old biplanes gave a thrill to those with any interest in machinery,nobody really thought that the Germans would have another pot shot at our country,but how wrong they proved to be ? the hum drum of everyday life and need to feed the mouths of millions would mean that people would of necessity take jobs that they did not really like or want,well nothing has changed there ! my father was no exception,the frantic search for work had led him into an industry building gas meters,he absolutely hated it,the job lasted only a few days and he did a most extraordinary thing for the time,he simply walked out,however his dogged determination led him to get work in a factory building aero engines,the famous firm of Alvis,without doubt the company produced some of the finest pre-war cars in British motoring history,cars built to last,hand built with wooden and metal parts formed by true craftsmen,no such thing as production lines then,that would come much later when Henry Ford built his all black lookalikes in America and Mr Boeing built his B-17 Flying Fortresses,no these were limited run beauties.As he started his daily trips to work he could not but help looking skywards at the beautiful Hawker Hart biplanes painted all yellow with polished silver alloy cowlings gleaming in the morning sun,elite university air squadron students practised their daily formation flying,but my father was no elitist,far from it,he was born to a coal merchant who delivered his products by old fashioned horse and cart,who was a quack horse doctor much in demand by the local gypsy community,never missed a chance to make any spare cash,whether it be selling outdated tins of red paint clearly marked white ! or doing a deal in the local pub with a pint of beer thrown in,he really was a likeable rogue like many of his ilke.So my dear father who built aeroplane models made of bamboo with silk covered wings as a young lad,purchased the latest copy of the ‘Wizard’ comic to get the special cardboard parts of aeroplanes within its weekly pages was now in the real hard real world earning a living,he must have really wanted to fly as even during his early factory life he applied to the RAFVR,Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve at nearby Ansty aerodrome for acceptance in the air force,his first application was met with ‘Go home lad,you are too young for one thing,swot up on your maths and come back next year’ can you imagine the dis-appointment he must have felt ? and many would have given up at that point alone,but no he did go home,he did carry on working in the aero engine factory,and above all he did swot up on his maths ! the outcome was that the following spring he enrolled and took the required tough exams and passed,he went back home again and waited for his details,this eventually found him square bashing at R.A.F Cardington,then attending the famous Arcy-Dacy establishment in London ( having slept on a park bench overnight as he arrived too late ) soon he was posted after a crash course in aerodynamics,more maths,more square bashing and the usual things associated with military life in general.But it was the lure of learning to fly that kept him focussed and before long he was on the train to an EFTS ( Elementary Flying Training School ) in Lincolnshire to learn to fly on Tiger Moth aircraft.,during that year was to prove the worst winter for many a year which was so bad and hampered flying to such a degree that the Air Ministry had to think of a way around it,and before long my father was setting sail for the sunny climes of Florida where he would be pushed to the limit to get him to fly along with many many ordinary British citizens who had given up everything to join the armed forces…the story continues.

[Guest]

wow this is going to be even better than i anticipated!! Barry you are a "natural storyteller" With that very rare ability to grab peoples attention and hold them entranced :-)

[Guest]

Barry,

The time and effort that you put into your writings is, as always, much appreciated. No matter what you are saying it is a joy to read and I am sure that your story will prove to be equally interesting.

Thank you.

[Guest]

That was wicked, cant wait for part 2. Like the others say you have a perfect writing style which is both easy, and more importantly fun to read!!! You could easily sell this blog as a book!

I can 110% understand your fathers lust to fly, up until the age of 16 its all i ever wanted to do, but alass my crappy eyes let me down and it was ground crew or nothing......tiger moths tho....lucky chap!

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Part 2 of how I finally managed to get here !

Part 2- Hard work and gritted determination.

Before we move on to my fathers trip to America lets look into detail how things worked before you ever got near an aeroplane and follow his movements from 1938 to 1941,25th February saw him at the Aviation Candidates Selection Board No.2 Recruit centre,Cardington in Bedfordshire,here as many thousands before and after him you stepped right off the train and into the old first world war airfield,the selection board kept their young recruits waiting deliberately in the waiting rooms,closely watched they needed to see how they reacted under stress and uncertainty,this seemingly cruel behaviour was essential in determining the moral fibre of these potential aircrew,questions,questions and yet more questions were bombarded at the candidates,they went into great depth about the candidates background,psychology played its part,if you could endure this then you were in,all of this was followed over a two day period entailing suitability for flying duties,aptitude tests,educational tests,and the dreaded selection board and air crew medical board,this was the first hurdle to becoming an airman with much intensity of training to follow,just to show that intensity I have where ever possible here included actual dates,this will give a clear impression in how they moved from one task to the next in the effort to get them trained as quickly as possible,only the very best would survive the course,and many got washed out when they went abroad to do their flying training.

The next move was on 14th July 1941 when my father saw himself at the aircrew receiving centre ACRC rudely nicknamed by the airman as `Darcy Arcy' this was at the famous Lords Cricket ground,Abbey Lodge,Regents Park,London N.W.8.

Within a few days saw him the other end of the country at No.4 Initial Training Wing,Paigntn,Devon where he received more intense training in preparation for another move,lots of drill and physical training,subjects to absorb were mathematics,navigation,morse signalling,gunnery,aircraft recognition and the all important air force law.



During 1941 in his uniform at the No.4 ITW,Paignton,Devon.

Then he was on his way to a real airfield at No.3 Elementary Flying Training School,R.A.F Watchfield,Swindon,Wiltshire,here he did his first solo in Tiger Moth R5201 on 7th November 1941.

Notable amongst the instructors at Watchfield was Captain Meager a first world war pilot who later was to be the navigational officer on the R.100 airship.



Another trip this time on 20th January 1941 to the ACDC at Heaton Park,in Manchester where he received his orders to get ready for embarkation to Canada on the famous 'Arnold Scheme' instigated by General 'Hap' Arnold,on 20th January 1942 together with hundreds of other potential aircrew he set sail on the troopship `Montcalm' from Greenock,Glasgow to Halifax,Nova Scotia,from here he travelled some 1500 miles down the east side of the United States by train to No.31 R.A.F depot Moncton,New Brunswick and then onto the U.S.Army Air Corps reception centre at Turner field,Albany,Georgia,U.S.A.



Montcalm 1920-1942 16,418 gt,she was built in 1920,in 1939 she was converted into the armed merchant cruiser HMS Wolfe,from 1941 she was used as a troopship,and in 1942 was sold to the Admiralty as a submarine depot ship.

She spent most of the war,from 1943 on Holy Loch with HMS Forth.The mobile submarine ships were the 'ugly ducklings' of the fleet,and gave invalueable long distance support for submarines such as the re-loading of torpedoes when required.





A bleak looking Nova Scotia during January 1942.



Locomotive 1395 pulling the train some 1500 miles down the east side of the U.S.A,what a magnificent looking engine.

From there he went during the same month of January to the Lakeland School of Aeronautics,Lakeland,Orlando,Florida,U.S.A. where he was to carry on with his flying training on an entirely different type of machine to the Tiger Moth,this time the Boeing PT-17 Stearman Kaydet, training biplane was to teach him the fundamentals of handling much heavier and larger machines.



A piece of history,my fathers identification card issued to him at the Lakeland school of aeronautics.



And in the Sidcot flying suit outer,helmet with fitted inter-comm,chest type parachute harness,with his ambition fulfilled to fly he looks a very happy man.



And with a nice looking young lady called Ruella 28th March 1942.

To be Continued...

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Part 3-How I finally managed to get here.

Part 3-29th January 1942 to 4th February 1943 The pressure is on.



After the long and tiring journey from the UK,and the formalities at the reception centre at Turner Field,Albany,Georgia,U.S.A it was time to travel to Lakeland in Florida,as the future airmen travelled across America they observed the beauty of this new found country,the numerous orange groves,lakes and everglades,if you had the misfortune to have an engine failure over them then the allogators or snakes would have you for lunch,many of the barren satellite fields were far from home keeping airplanes from clogging up the intense circuit,the American instructors were tough and unforgiving,you could get a 'wash out' for the slightest misdemeanour,step out of line and you were washed out the next day,one student taxied into another Stearman scratching the paintwork,another wrote off five aircraft in a take off accident in one go,the scrap compound was an indication of the attrition rate,a pile of Stearmans that had been wrecked in a freak storm and used for spares,airplanes were valuable and they did not want to loose too many,as you can see from the U.S.Army Air Corps rules below issued to every student and drummed in constantly,flights were strictly VMC ( Visual flight rules )a term unheard of in those days,but meaning that the ground should be visible with no flying in clouds whatsoever,the inherent and real dangers of vertigo had claimed many a student loosing sight with the ground and spinning in-



The Boeing PT-17 Stearman was the airplane used for training,all fifty five of them neatly lined up gleaming with yellow wings and blue fuselages,the red dot of the American roundal standing out like a sore thumb,with the seven stars and stripes proudly displayed on the rudder,powered with a variety of engines usually 225 hp Continental or Lycoming motors,she was a rugged man sized machine.



Not far from the two huge steel and concrete hangars which were large enough to accomodate two regulation hockey rinks,were the barrack blocks,administration offices and mess hall,all laid out in much the same quadrangle formation as you would have found in any period university,the mess hall was high ceilinged and beamed in the Tudor manner.It seated 250 at refectory tables,all buildings were built to withstand hurricanes and painted in restful colours inside and out,and were erected acording to plans of the U.S.Army,for tropical posts.Each building was tightly screened and there was a ten foot high esplanade around each floor so there is a cooling breeze on the hottest day or night,there was a heating system available for winter use if needed.

While some of the schools chose a housing system of placing four students in a suite,the school at Lakeland was based on the community principle of thirty boys to each barrack.The owner of the school was Albert.I.Lodwick who was himself a leading figure in North American aviation,a big believer in good fellowship.



The students day began at 5.30 in the morning with reveille,roll call and formation,followed by half an hour of calisthenics,breakfast followed and by 7.30 am,those that were assigned to morning flight,were on the line with their instructors,those assigned to morning ground school were in their classrooms absorbing the principles of aerodynamics,theory of combustion engines,meterorology or any of the book subjects of the day that airmen would need to know,the classroom groups would then fly in the afternoon.The morning and afternoon periods would have been alternated weekly and were for a reason,any Florida pilot would have told you then that there was as much difference in the lift of the morning air,and in the afternoon air in Florida as there is between the Sahara and the Arctic wastes.

The entire school knocked off for lunch at 11,30 am-not the conventional lunch hour but remember these guys had been up and at it since 5.30 in the morning ! Lunch was a bountiful meal,served under the vaulted ceiling of the mess hall by impeccably neat coloured waiters in white coats.

This gives the historian a great insight into the efficency and planning that went into the Arnold Scheme,if it had not been for this ability to train in such good conditions that Florida offered then the training back home in the bleak and awful weather that the UK was then experiencing would have severly delayed the production of suitable aircrew.



Picture of the recreation rest room taken by my father at Lakeland during 1942.



Lakeland looked like this from the air,the Lockheed Lodestar was a regular visitor carrying passengers across America,note the rows of tiny Piper Cub aircraft on the left operated by the resident civil flying school.



The beautiful Lakeland civic centre.



Well it could not have been all work,my fathers smile says it all !

To be continued...14 months of hard work and time for embarkation.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Techniques for planking your model.

The term 'planking' as applied to a scale model has been used for many years by scale modellers,the technique is particularly useful where a compound curve is involved in the structure of the model,take for example a typical fuselage of a fighter aircraft like the Spitfire or Hurricane,the shape changes dramatically where the nose underneath meets the wing root,and then aft of the trailing edge blends in nicely with the fuselage.Such a compound curve can really only be successfully tackled by planking,it is not difficult but does require a bit of planning and know how to do the job properly.Firstly select a few planks of balsa sheet with a medium density and aim for a straight grain if you can,we can tackle the planks in two basic ways 1/ Planks cut parallel or 2/ Planks cut with a taper,experience will tell you what to use at which position,but as a useful guide if the curve tapers towards the tail or nose then you need to cut the planks respectively,lay out a selection on the bench and make sure that you have enough to complete the job in hand ! for the sake of instruction we will be planking a Hawker Hurricane fuselage,you will have pre-sanded the formers with a Permagrit block to account for the taper of the cladding,start by laying the first one mid way on the fuselage side,this plank will be a parallel one because it is a starting datum piece,everything relies on this single point,as we add further pieces note that as the wood takes the curve it needs to be slightly chamfered at the edges,to do this use a trusty and invaluble razor plane,just run the plane from one end to the other but dont get paranoid ! any discrepencies can easily be accounted for in the glueing process,this is not a precision process so dont get the micrometer out,the final sanding will knock everything into shape,it is a case of adjusting,sanding and curving,only do a few planks at a time and use those super 'T Pins' obtainable from either model or craft shops,forget the glass headed pins that break and can be dangerous,I once drove one right through my finger,very painful.You will slowly get to the point where things start to require a dramatic curve,dont worry just stop at that point in the planking and make a new datum with another strip of wood,the gaps in between can easily be plugged with pieces of balsa,this is sculpting balsa wood at its best,so relax and enjoy it,another tip is to curve the planks as well especially with a large compound curve to deal with,take a strip of wood and draw it under a round object such as a pencil,this will break the fibres of the wood and make it more manageable,continue until you meet the top and bottom of the fuselage,by this stage it will look like a crazy porcupine but that is how it should look at this stage,now comes the interesting bit ! remove all the pins and once again take the razor plane and slowly and carefully run it along the planks from nose to tail,then reach for some coarse glasspaper wrapped around a piece of cork or balsa block and just keep sculpting and sanding the shape until you are happy with the profile,this is a very satisfying process as the model starts to come alive and a thing of great beauty,carry on by using finer grades of paper finally finishing off with a fine garnet or my old favourite grey crocus paper,this will leave a fine shine to the balsa,hold the fuselage up to the light and place a straight edge against the wood,as you run it along the surface you will note any bumps in the surface,just rework these areas with your abrasive papers until you are happy with the result.

For adhesives use Aliphaetic resin glue,this yellowy mixture sands well and does not have the rubbery quality of ordinary PVA for this particular job,a medium sized bottle will last a long time.

We are going to finish the planking properly in another tutorial,forget the heat shrink films for this one,I am going to show you how to do the job properly as the modelling crafstmen of yesteryear used to,and get a great finish at the same time,meanwhile grab a cuppa and admire your handiwork in the knowledge that you have done the job correctly !

To all my good readers-Part 4 of my story continues shortly,some necessary vintage photographs have now been located,these have not seen the light of day for over 45 years !

[Guest]

Barry,

I have to say your life story is fascinating so far, you could write a book about your Father, never mind yourself!

I am amazed, and it made me realise just how much I fall short, at how much you know about your Father. My knowledge of mine is no-where near as in depth and I am left wondering whether I should be questioning my Mother more while I still have the chance.

Very interesting stuff though and obvious where you get your love of all things flying. I look forward to more.

[wonwinglo]

Richard,I am beginning to realise that it is what to leave out that is the important thing,not just what to just include,I do not just mean any of the many mistakes that I have made in my life which will be highlighted but the sheer volume of material at hand ,I have a huge heap of photographs to sift through today and collate in order of year,this is going to take some time so this is what I have decided to do-firstly my fathers piece will be completed ,I considered this so important to the way my own life evolved that it was well worth including notwithstanding his interesting military service life,then I will have to pause to prepare my own bits and pieces,it is the only way because to include a full appraisal without setting it down as notes first will be impossible,believe me memory does play some tricks ! so I beg eveyones patience but can assure you that the wait will be worth it,have no fear it will be completed here.

Another interesting aspect to this is about a year before he passed away I sat down one day and interviewd him,at first he was reluctant to say too much in any detail but after a while this very private man came forth,thank goodness that I did this because researching his life would have been very difficult otherwise,thankfully he never threw much away ( a bit like myself ) and tiny bits of paper have revealed and confirmed important dates,thus tracking his life has been made a lot easier,now my wife has just pointed out to me that she knows nothing of her fathers army life,so in this respect I am very fortunate,my advice to everyone is get your loved ones history now while you are able to,and once more make sure that valuable records and photographs are not destroyed when the day comes to sort out those chattels,it can and does happen,if it had not been for myself being around then everything would have gone down the tip,do not let this happen,this is social history being vandalised.

Having said this I urge anyone to sit down and have a go themselves,you will find it a most rewarding exercise.

[Guest]

Barry!! Model maker, Artist, Scribe, Biographer, Auto- Biographer,Author, Historian, Researcher, Curator, Advisor, friend of all and now Philosopher!!!

one day we will be shocked to find something that this bloke doesnt know about? (doubt that though)

superb stuff Barry. You have an amazing gift mate !

[Guest]

Barry,

There are some very poignant messages in your last posting. My Father died when he was only 62 and before I really had a chance to get to know much of the details of his earlier career. This is a great shame as some of the stories he did share of his early days at sea were incredibly interesting and I bitterly regret not getting to know more.

I must sit my Mum down one day and pick her brains while we have the chance. Using her vast collection of old photo's would be an ideal foundation for such discussions and I am sure I would get to know a lot more about my Dad as well. It is such a great shame that he never saw me as a Chief Engineer, which I know he would have been quite proud of, and was something my Mother kept saying when she spent last Christmas on board with myself and Annette.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Barry, as always they are interesting and informative but, far more relevent, they are thought provoking and invariably challenging and, as such, I thoroughly enjoy reading them.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Part 4 of how I got here-14 months hard work then embarkation for UK.

Part 4-14 months of hard work then embarkation.

At this point it is perhaps appropiate to outline the three basic training schemes in operation at this crucial time in history,the CATP Commonwealth Air Training Plan,using bases in Canada;the BFTS British Flying Training Schools in the USA which utilised American bases and equipment;Arnold Scheme,flying training of British cadets undertaken within the structure of the U.S.Army Air Corps,R.A.F cadets were allocated to one of the above schemes before leaving the UK.

There were in fact six BFTS's established initially as a result of an agreement between Roosevelt and Churchill in early 1941,they were-Love Field,Dallas,Terrell,Texas;Glendale,Lancaster,Cali fornia;Tulsa,Miami,Oklahoma;Thunderbird,Mesa,Arizo na;Arcadia,Clewiston,Florida;Albany,Ponca City,Oklahoma,only four of these were in existance at the cessation of hostilities in September 1945.

During mid 1942 my father made a few moves across Canada in order to learn the skills of his forthcoming trade,from Trenton Air Station in Ontario he went to No.5 Air Observer School,Stevenson field,Winnipeg,Manitoba,Canada-



Breathtaking view from the air of the Capital city of the Province of Manitoba,Canada in 1942,the restrictions of carrying cameras were obviously allowed as this was taken on a training flight in an Avro Canada built Anson trainer.

After a brief stay at Trenton Air Station,Ontario,Canada it was on to No.5 Air Observer School,Stevenson field,Winnipeg,Manitoba where he would see a wide variety of training aircraft including this Handley Page Hampden,and a Curtiss Kittyhawk practising circuits-



Handley Page Hampden ( nicknamed the 'Flying Suitcase' ) in the circuit at Stevenson Field.



A Curtiss Kittyhawk practising circuits and bumps at Stevensons field,these were the sights that greeted my father in 1942.

After a few weeks it was time to move on again,this time to No.31 Gunnery School at Picton,Ontario,once again he received intense specialised training on Avro Canada Anson Mk.II aircraft and Bristol Bolingbrokes.



Ansom Mk.II on approach to Picton,Ontario,and a gut wrenching steep bank in a Bristol Bolingbroke with my father in the turret-



From here he went to No.33 Air Navigation School,at Mount Hope,Ontario here he did a lot of flying in more Avro Ansons,take a look at this picture aircraft as far as the eye can see-



And the obligatory group line up picture,LJC is bottom second in from the right,once again he is in his element,he is flying and has comradship,what more could he have wanted ?-



The group lined up for the course photograph,I wonder how many are still around now ? every name is on the reverse of the picture.

Well on 4th February 1943 after a brief visit once again to the R.A.F depot at Moncton he was embarked back to the UK on the Troopship 'Andes'-



Andes-Displacement 25,689 tons,669 x 83 feet,Steam Turbines,twin screws,21 knots,607 passengers ( 403 first class and 204 second class ) Built by Harland & Wolf at Belfast in 1939,originally built for Royal Mail Lines ( British flag ) Southampton-East Coast of America service,she was completed as a troopship in 1939,entered in South American service 1948,converted to a cruise ship in 1959-60 and finally scrapped in Belgium in 1971.

Well try and put yourself in my fathers place back then,on the way back home what would he be thinking of ? probably looking forward to more flying soon,one thing is for sure these were to be the most happy and memorable times of his life,despite the evils of war he was acheiving what he really wanted.

Part 5 will cover and follow his further advanced training in the UK,and he would meet his bride to be,my mother who was serving as a WAAF at Stranraer as an aircraft fitter.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-How I finally got here-Part 5 Back to the UK for more training.

Part 5- Back to the UK for more training.

Following the warm weather of Florida the trainee pilots were faced with a bleak cold landing on the shores of the UK,without fuss or time to reflect they were ordered to report to No.7 PRC in Harrogate,Yorkshire where they would be kitted out with the required equipment for their next tasks,this was during the month of February 1943,with war rationing,uncertainty and stress the recruits just wanted to get things done and go to an operational station.

3rd March 1943 saw my father at No.4 (O ) Advanced Flying unit ,West Freugh,Stranraer,quickly followed by a move to Manby,Lincolnshire at No.1 Armament School for a special training course for instructors,here is a photograph,the note on the back says 'Back row good pals,Bill Wilkinson,Bill Fielder,favourite pubs the 'Jolly Sailer' in Louth,and the 'Ship Hotel' Grimsby at weekends' aircraft were Bristol Blenheim IV and the Handley Page Hampden-



He returned back to No.4 (O) A.F.U West Freugh as a bombing instructor but before long was updating his skills at No.1 Air Armament School Manby learning about the intricate specialist knowledge of the Mk XIV bomb sight,another move this time to No.1 (O) Advanced Flying Unit ,Wigtown ,Scotland as a Navigational Instructor,it was here that he met his bride to be who was an aircraft fitter working on Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah engines,here is a small photograph taken of her at that period-



I actually know very little about my mothers R.A.F career,not even her service number has surfaced,a Northern lass born in Newcastle upon Tyne,but what a lovely period photograph of her,she did tell me about the Sunderland flying boats landing at Stranraer.

Next placement for my father was to be to an Operational Training Unit ( OTU ) at Lossiemouth,Morayshire,Scotland,here he would have been groomed for crew allocation to bombers which took place at R.A.F Sturgate,Gainsborough,Lincolnshire,after a spell with No.1661 Heavy Conversion Unit at Winthorpe in Nottinghamshire.

No.227 Squadron No.5 Group Bomber Command,R.A.F Strubby was to be his next important move,here he would get to grips with the Avro Lancaster,his aircraft was PB731 coded 9J-L,an aircraft that has been much modelled and painted over the years by myself,here are some typical group photographs of this aircraft and the crews-



Top row,extreme right is my father.



4 th in from the left middle row,an awesome looking bomb,the small white bomb is for practise purposes,imagine going to war in that Lanc ? this picture was taken on the squadrons move to R.A.F Graveley in Cambridgeshire,227 Squadron was finally disbanded on 5 th September 1945.



3 rd from the right,also taken at Graveley,a good view of the crew and aircraft,codes were red with a yellow outline.

Thankfully he never did any missions in anger otherwise he would probably not have survived as the attrition rates and loss of crews were very heavy,he did many flights over war torn Germany checking and photographing the damage,also here is a little momento of his trips to Barie in Italy ( yes I was named after the island )-



On 29th January 1944 he was married at Low Westwood church,near Consett,County Durham,here he proudly shows his uniform and links arms with his lovely bride Olive Wilkinson -



The war was nearly over and everyone just wanted to settle down into civvie street,some pilots went to work for the post war B.O.A.C (British Overseas Airways Corporation ) father would eventually return to his reserved occupation at the Alvis,the day he went back to his milling machine the company treated him as if he had not been away to serve his country,he was to remain with the Alvis until his retirement his final position being a works study engineer.

A few more moves to Bruntingthorpe,then R.A.F Catterick,R.A.F West Kirby,Wirral,Cheshire;R.A.F Poddington,Wellingborough,Northants,although he was offered the chance to go abroad to fly Dakotas he declined and instead finished up at a driver M.T Course at R.A.F Weeton,Blackpool where he learned to drive,despite this he never owned a single car in his whole life preferring to cycle everywhere.

Finally he was demobbed at No.108 PDC Uxbridge and Wembley stadium,and took 68 days leave until 28th July 1946,he attained the rank of Warrant officer.



A lot of money in those distant days,here is his war gratuity slip,the grand total of £99.1/- ( one old shilling )

Thats it for my fathers history,now I am going to have a break,meanwhile my own story is in preparation and will carry on from this one,please be patient !