R.A.F. UPPER HEYFORD

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="043c8b83.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="04d4b320.png" border=0 width="75" height="50" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" ><B>MY RAF DAYS AND AFTER</B></FONT> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >   |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MY RAF DAYS AND AFTER">home</A></FONT></div> <div> <B>R.A.F. 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UPPER HEYFORD</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="585" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER ROWSPAN=4 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="12"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="12" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF WIDTH="566"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="566" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF><NOBR><div> <B><U> <A NAME="65009359"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0033CC" FACE="Broadway BT" ><B><U>No.1 Parachute & Glider Training School </U></B></FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF WIDTH="566"><div> <B>After my leave finished, I had to head for Oxfordshire to R.A.F. Station Uper Heyford my first posting after West Kirby.  No1. Parachute Training School was established here in 1946 . In 1947 the Horsa Glider was included in the Training for the Paratoops. No.1.P.T.S. was at Ringway during the war. The station crest (at the end of this page), as it was until the U.S.Airforce took it over as a base for the Air Refueling Squadron, in 1950 and was closed down when they left in 1993. </B></div> <div> <B>No. 1 P.T.& G.S moved to Abingdon when the U.S.Airforce took over.</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04e21c80.png" border=0 width="289" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>With a travel warrant made out to Bicester, as it was April/May I knew I would not be home again for some time apart from a weekend pass, that is. On arrival at Bicester I found an R.A.F.15 cwt truck waiting for me, two other bods were picked</B></div> <div> <B> up as well, it was only a 5 mile journey so wasn't too bad. On arrival at the camp I was documented told were every thing was, told were I could find standing orders,told to check them every day. I was shown to my billet, a two story old building, </B></div> <div> <B>from the 1920's, thats it below</B>, <B>my mate Bill on the left with my hand on his shoulder.</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="04f3ce20.jpg" border=0 width="316" height="226" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>The main road ran through the middle of the camp, one side the airfield and the other admin and domestic. Once I had setled in I was asked if I still wanted to work on aircraft engines, so I said no I would like to be a pilot, the Flt. Sgt. said </B></div> <div> <B>so would we all, with a laugh but you start your trade training as from tomorrow. </B></div> <div> <B>I have just found some of my notes from my trade traing as F.M.E.</B></div> <div> <B>The first was:- </B><B><U>Duties of an F.M.E</U></B><B> To be able to undertake minor periodical inspections, servicing instalations, testing of engine and engine parts. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The following are some of the of the sketches we had to do.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05007590.jpg" border=0 width="519" height="345" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="052ad5e0.jpg" border=0 width="429" height="350" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0541a5e0.jpg" border=0 width="538" height="350" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05519790.jpg" border=0 width="537" height="633" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>All notes were in the RAF note books, the front cover went years ago.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="056bade0.jpg" border=0 width="442" height="222" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>Proof of my status, this is part of my records from Gloucester, I am too shy to show any more. So after a while I was up for my trade test and passed out as AC1. F.M.E.</B></div> <div> <B>Then I had more training on the Dakota enginges, they were Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp, this is the badge, </B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="057b7a30.jpg" border=0 width="183" height="163" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>after which I was a specialist on the Pratt & Whitney. The tools that we were issued with were far better that the R.A.F. issue. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Here are some photos .</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="0588f9e0.jpg" border=0 width="143" height="158" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">    <IMG SRC="059a69e0.jpg" border=0 width="166" height="158" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">             <IMG SRC="05a93960.jpg" border=0 width="147" height="150" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>No.1. Me soppy but happy.      </B></div> <div> <B>No.2. two electrician's, two F.M.E.'S, one F.M.A.    </B></div> <div> <B>No.3. I'm on left, Winnie and Walter (Jock) Turnbull.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>As the days went by things improved, I was making friends, doing night shifts where the pilot’s were doing landing on one engine and two of us waited at the end of the runway to restart them with a trolley ac, which was a heavy two wheeled trolley with batteries in and we plugged the cable into the belly of the Dak see photo below, </B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05c33f90.jpg" border=0 width="307" height="249" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">      <IMG SRC="05d9d990.jpg" border=0 width="157" height="153" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>and here are the petrol bowser crew.</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="05e9f930.jpg" border=0 width="159" height="147" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">                       <IMG SRC="05f99820.jpg" border=0 width="153" height="130" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Daks & Gliders</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0602c730.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="115" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Working on the flights was Ok in the summer but as the weather got colder it was very uncomfortable when draining the water out of the fuel tanks, your fingers got frozen.</B></div> <div> <B>Soon it was Christmas 1947 and we were given a 7 day pass. Mid way through 1948 about June/July, on the notice board, (standing orders), the CO, had asked if anyonewas interested in taking a two week parachute training course, after discussing it with my mates two of us put our names forward, (you never learn do you, they said never volunteer).</B></div> <div> <B>After we had done our basic’s, jumping from stools, back of slow moving 15 cwt trucks and from balconies in the hanger, (on restricting cables), we went outside and jumped from the tower, again on a cable which our harness was attached to, </B></div> <div> <B>although the area surrounding the tower had loads of cork to soften our landing it still gave you a thump when you landed. That was the first week the next we went to a place called Weston on the Green. As we approached we could see an old type barrage balloon high up in the sky and things coming down from it, then we saw the parachutes opening, we were taken to the person in charge and were told it would </B></div> <div> <B>be about 15 minutes before we were called to go into the balloon basket, had we all got our chutes with us, yes, we all said. Then it was time to get in to the basket, there were some funny coloured faces in it, what mine was like I hate to think, the higher the balloon went the more I thought why am I doing this, next thing we connected our straps to the cable, then one by one we jumped , I was no 2 so did not have long to think about going down. After the initial jerk as the chute opened,it was fantastic looking around, then I was near the ground and had to prepare for the landing, this is what you had been training for, I hit the ground and rolled over</B></div> <div> <B>as taught and found I was OK. I did have some photos but can't find them still if I do I can put them on here later.</B></div> <div> <B>It was good to be back on the ground again, and we all discused it on the way back to camp.</B></div> <div> <B>I can’t remember if we had to do one more jump from the balloon before we jumped rom the Dakota or not, next thing I know I was taken off the course and told to pack my kit as I was being sent out to Germany on the Berlin Airlift, so bang went my final part of the course. I did write to Brize Norton in 2003, which is where No.1 Parachute School is now and asked if they had any records of my jumps and the Squadron </B></div> <div> <B>Leader who answered my letter said they had nothing in their archives of my jumps, as I had not finished the course, I suppose it could have been a one off by the CO, still I tried.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="06287fa0.jpg" border=0 width="391" height="250" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>Went back in 1976 and found the station had been taken over by the USA Airforce, they were there for 43 years. </B></div> <div> <B>I found an office that was manned by R.A.F. Personnel and </B></div> <div> <B>had a natter about how things were when I was at Upper Heyford.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>         <IMG SRC="0b42e680.jpg" border=0 width="302" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>The next pages will about the Berlin Airlift.</U></B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF WIDTH="566"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="566" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>