FONTAINEBLEAU VETERANS

ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

lISSUE NO. 68 SEPTEMBER 2018

EDITORIAL

A longstanding member and supporter of the Association’s activities were prompted to take me to task over the quality of the last Newsletter. I grant that it was not one of best of my efforts. Without input from the readers I have to search the web and newspapers to glean any interesting articles that I might include. The Newsletter in question was not checked by Christine, as usual, because she was in hospital for major surgery on her knee. She was very poorly when she came home, so much so that on her first review after discharge her surgeon ordered to return to hospital immediately so that she could be monitored for the medication she had been prescribed. A different regime was prescribed but the healing process will take some while.

I had feedback of appreciation from a number of members for an excellent Newsletter.

The format of the Newsletter on our Website is left to the Webmaster. The version I had posted contained one piece that was partly duplicated, I was able to find filler. The layout on the website is the responsibility of the Webmaster. Remember that the Webmaster gives time free.

Notice that the Newsletter is available on our Website was sent to 81 members with a request to advise me when they had accessed it. Only a few have done so. In addition hard copies were sent to 18 members on 4 circuits. Only 2 completed their circuit.

The publication of the Newsletter was timed to remind members of the Annual Reunion, hoping that our numbers would increase. That was a false hope and we carry on with the usual crew. I have had my say so I will sit down and be quiet.

WELCOME ABOARD

327F1CB7E04F43B58DF96D55022A6F69 National Serviceman SAC Esmond Clements enlisted in the RAF at Cardington in January 1955. After initial training he was posted to Fontainebleau in April that year to serve in ACOS Training. In October the following year he was posted to RAF Gutersloh, Germany. After demob Esmond returned to his office job in the Paper Trade in London. At the age of 32 he established his own company. He has always been a professional jazz pianist. Now he is busier than ever playing at concerts. The Association extends a warm welcome to this colourful character who lives in Farnham and has contributed accounts of his initial training and service at AAFCE, and his service at the Headquarters of 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2nd ATAF) at Gutersloh in Westphalia, Germany. Articles of these postings appear later in this Newsletter.

January 1955 - The Vickers Valiant enters service in the RAF, able to carry atomic bombs

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FROM THE POSTBOX

I came across an ex-Army chap, living in our street, who served at Fontainebleau. After a bit of arm twisting he produced a few notes on his time there:-

Micheal Capon Signalman and Paul Tickner account (23076880 possibly!) a Lance-Corporal and finally Acting Corporal at ALFCE, Royal Signals ALFCE/SHAPE. Bourlon Lines Barracks, Fontainebleau, Caserne Lariboisère – Autumn 1954

I arrived at Euston, and went with my pal Ted to find the Chenies Street Embarkation Centre, just off Tottenham Court Road. We were, needless to say, laden somewhat with kit! We were en-route to Paris - wow. The next day we found Victoria Station and took the boat train to Dover Marine. I had thought the whole train went onto the ferry, steam loco. and all! ....rather naive! After the Channel crossing it was time to board the French train from Calais to Amiens and onward to Paris. This all seemed exciting! We arrived at the Gare du Nord and had to find the Metro...so we were told! Then we had to go to the Gare de Lyon and from there most of the very helpful guys on the journey seemed to have vanished! At the Gare de Lyon we eventually found a very late train. I managed to ask what time it was due to depart. Thought I was understood – who knows?

Arriving at Fontainebleau after midnight, the station official wanted to shut-up shop so we were prepared to sleep rough. We were, however, eventually picked up when it was noted that we were missing. At the barracks they gave us a great English breakfast. The chef said we wouldn’t get another like it! A few weeks after settling in we were off on one or two exercises at Soissons, in Northern France, we were in WW2 barracks, it was freezing and it was snowing outside.”

More to follow in the next Newsletter Paul Tickner

Latest Newsletter received but disappointed at obvious errors. Considering this is going country as well as almost worldwide it does not show our Editorial content in a very professional light. This is not the first time an issue has contained errors. Perhaps it is time to have it proof read before sending out. I understand that at times you are under not only pressure but pain so get someone else involved.

Name and address withheld

Hello David - Thank you for the details of the next Reunion. Unfortunately Elaine and I will not be able to join you this year. I am now unable to drive due to the fact that when applying to renew my driving licence my eye field test did not meet with the criteria of the DVLA. Fortunately Elaine does drive although has recently broken a bone in her ankle and has been unable to drive for the past seven weeks! We have some good friends locally who have been very helpful, and thank goodness for our bus passes!

We hope that you and Christine are both well and enjoying life. Take care of yourselves and we wish you all the best for this year’s Reunion. Fond regards

Tony and Elaine Bowdler Droitwich,

It is sad to see that you are not receiving "letters" from other members. I cannot imagine that my notes are of much interest to other members, especially as I was "army" and have been resident in Canada for decades with little contact with others.

Charles Wallis, Kanata, Ontario

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It is worth mentioning that my first day of service was at ALFCE. I joined the Royal Signals at age of 16 heading for Harrogate Apprentice School. I attended the International School. Maybe I qualify as a Fontainebleau Vet !

It is also worth mentioning that I am a member of 16 Signal Regiment Reunion Club, www.the-60s-16ers.com. I have looked after the website for many years. Just google " 16ers" and we are top of the list.

David Hebden, Shaw, Nr. Oldham

Replies please to the Editor

Another year has flown by since the last Newsletter, as always a very interesting read. Many thanks. Hope this finds you both in good shape. We are about the same here in the Fens, all the aches and pains we get for free when we are getting near our sell by date. Thanks once again hope to hear from you soon take good care of each other.

Jen & Tony Almond, The Fens

Today, 20 August, I celebrate another milestone, It was 64 years ago today that I enlisted in the U.S Air Force, my how time flies...

Richard Christensen, Largo, Florida

OBITUARIES

LAC Peter Chatten - by David Rogerson

It is my sad duty to write the Obituary for LAC Peter Chatten who passed away suddenly on 9 February, aged 88 years. Peter was a colleague and good friend of mine at Fontainebleau where he served from April 1951 until December 1953 in the Intelligence Directorate. He joined the RAF in 1947 and was demobbed in 1954. He saw service in Egypt, Fontainebleau and various parts of the UK. Peter had a carefree outlook and a wonderful sense of humour. He often recounted the day at Carrow Road in the late 1930’s when he saw Norwich City (his Canaries) beat Arsenal in the FA Cup while he was perched in a tree overlooking the Ground. I often teased him that the sun in Egypt had affected him.

After his RAF service Peter went into teaching. His wife Nancy passed away a few years ago. He joined the Association in 1997 after which we regularly exchanged Christmas cards. He was good friend who will be sadly missed. He is survived by his 2 children John and Sarah.

AC1 Bill Rudman

It is with sorrow that I have to report that A C 1 Bill Rudman passed away suddenly at

home on 29 April after becoming unresponsive to the efforts of paramedics He was 84

Rudman 2_0001 Bill served in the Armory at AAFCE from Jan 1953 until August 1954. He was always fun to be with and was popular with all his colleagues at Fontainebleau. On leaving he was posted to Horsham St Faith before his demob in January 1955.

He had lost touch with an old flame – Anna – but after returning to Manchester he met up with her again. They got married in 1956, their eldest daughter was born later that year; Mandy, their youngest daughter arrived in 1962. Bill had taken up skilled engineering

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employment with a firm involved in switchgear. It was hard physical work and stressful at times.

Both Bill and Anne attended our early Reunions until Bill's health began to fail and his asthma became more of a problem together with his increasing deafness which made it difficult to hear when in a group of people.

Bill was a staunch Manchester City supporter and survived long enough to see them win another Premiership title. His daughter Lynne was taken along to the games from a very early age. Both daughters married and had made Bill and Anne proud grandparents when they were in their 40 to 50 age group.

In 2016 they celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary The card from H.M. The Queen has framed and hangs in their hall. Anne is so grateful to have the continued support of her daughters and her lovely grandchildren - three of whom are also married-and have produced two great grandsons aged 3 and 1. The younger one is pictured with Anne and Bill.

Bill was very interested in Steam Railway Preservation Societies, watching football, golf

and athletics on the TV.

Cpl. Tony Course

After a long and brave battle fighting cancer Tony Course passed away on 7 May. He spent a lot of time in hospital receiving treatment. He served at AAFCE from January 1960 to January 1963 in the Office of Scientific Advice with rank of Corporal. Before he relocated to France he attended our Annual Reunions regularly with his second wife Gillie. They found life in France more attractive. Tony had two children Wendy and Tim with his first wife, Betty, who are very good friends with Gillie. They have given her very much support during difficult times.

Tony had two lifelong loves - mathematics and languages and until ten days before his death he was still spending hours each days ’doing his sums' (as Gillie called it) studying nuclear maths and physics. After leaving the RAF Tony worked for twenty five years at Winfrith Atomic Agency. Gillie says that she has never met a man who loved his work so much. When he wasn't working he was reading, listening to classical music and in the summer spending lazy afternoons on the beach.

ANNUAL REUNION

On 13 October we shall meet at The Angel Hotel, Leamington Spa to celebrate our 21^st Reunion. It seems a long time ago that we met for our first Reunion when it was decided to formalise the Association. The facilities at the Angel ensure an enjoyable week end.

MY BASIC TRAINING in 1955 in THE ROYAL AIR FORCE by ESMOND CLEMENTS

At the age of 18 conscription was still in force and I was obliged to do two years National Service. I opted for the RAF, for which I was interviewed and accepted, and after medical checks I departed for RAF Cardington, Beds. On 3 January 1955 I was among hundreds of new entrants there that day from all over the country. We were given our uniforms and kit and a bed in a hut of about 20 young men. Some were heard quietly crying in the dark that night. Many had never been away from home before.

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After a few days of formalities we were sent to RAF Wilmslow, Cheshire, one of five basic

training camps. We were there for eight weeks and it was a truly gruesome experience,

made worse by the bitterly cold winter weather of Northern England. We were shocked by the brutal and humiliating discipline and spartan regime imposed on us which were all part of the process of producing efficient military personnel from raw civilians.

Our instructors roused us noisily at 4am. In underwear and greatcoats we hurried through the icy night to the nearby bathhouse with our razors and towels to begin our 'ablutions'. After dressing we began the daily polishing of the spotless billet floor and laid out our bedding and kit impeccably in the precise regulation format. Only then did we walk several hundred yards in the freezing darkness with our mugs and cutlery, for breakfast in the enormous dining hall that catered for the 4000 men.

In deep snow we learned marching and rifle drill on the parade ground every day. We were bullied and shouted at for weeks until we could do it perfectly as a unit, and until then we did not see the outside world. We sat in classrooms to learn about life in the RAF, how to clean a rifle and how to take a Bren gun apart. There were brief moments of relief in the NAAFI with a cup of tea, a bun and a cigarette, all of which we could barely afford on our service pay of 25 shillings (£1.25) a week. We also had to buy writing paper and stamps, Brasso, Blanco, shoe polish and toiletries.

One day we set off in trucks for the snow covered moors about 30 miles away, to be divided into small groups with a map and compass, and left to find our way back. I was dreading it. However, we found a coach full of elderly people stuck in a snowdrift near Macclesfield, with snow up to the windows. We dug it out with shovels, and then to my great relief the exercise was cancelled due to the extreme conditions and we returned to camp. I was overjoyed but feared we would go another day, we never did. What luck!

We spent several afternoons on the ranges wearing steel helmets and firing rifles and Bren machine guns with live ammunition. The empty cases were given back and carefully counted. Another day we were given masks and locked in a bunker. Tear gas was released and we had to remove our masks for a few seconds before the door was opened. We blindly stumbled out gasping for air and clutching our agonisingly painful eyes. Then came the day when we were marched through the snow to be vaccinated at the Sick Quarters. Ninety men filed briskly through the building to be given a huge shot and then lined up again outside. Several soon fainted and fell in the snow, and others became ill later that day and went to hospital.

After an early evening meal the day ended around a glowing coke stove polishing our boots and brass buttons ready for inspection the following morning. Nearly everyone

smoked and there was much clowning and obscene language. For most of us it was the first time that we had met anyone from the other regions of Britain and heard their different accents and speech. We were randomly thrown together and shared the

common hardships of our training but there was great comradeship between people who would normally never even meet. The lights were put out and we were in bed very early.

Toward the end of our basic training our RAF occupations had to be decided from a range of mostly technical trades. Flying was out of the question for a National Serviceman. I chose Administration and was accepted, and after home leave, was sent on a six weeks administration course at RAF Hereford. At the end I was selected for a rare NATO posting. Pictures shown in the Supplement - courtesy Esmond Clements.

Esmond has written at length of his time in Fontainebleau and Germany. He crammed so much in his 2 year’s National Service.

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ON HIGH ALERT by Les Kemp

Whilst serving at HQ AAFCE from 1960-63 as a Sergeant working in building No 1 with ACOS Intelligence. As with all Departments we had at least one officer of each of the Allied Nations. ACOS Intelligence had an Air Commodore, who was the senior RAF staff

officer (SRAFSO) and his deputy was a USAF full Colonel. (Bird Colonel).

In 1962 at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, we were put on alert and it was decided that some of us would be deployed to a Sub H.Q. At Fontainebleau on the day of

the deployment I turned up at the designated assembly point a few minutes early, as usual. The Colonel was the only one there at that point; he was dressed in full camouflage gear, tin hat, backpack, water bottle etc. I was in my RAF blue battledress uniform, collar and tie and had my change of clothing, shaving kit etc. in a small suitcase.

He looked at me in amazement and said “you are not going to war dressed like that are you?” My response was “we won the last bloody war dressed like this and we will win this one too”

Shortly afterwards an RAF Wing Commander and then a Squadron Leader turned up, fortunately they were dressed much as I was, and I was greatly relieved. The final person to arrive was a USAF Sergeant, dressed similarly to the colonel. You will recall how much better USAF personnel were equipped than us, besides better pay and conditions. Off we went to our alternative Headquarters, near Soisson a French base which was mostly underground, and we set up our equipment ready to begin operations the next day.

At the evening meal I met up with a WRAF Sergeant, whose name escapes me. She was with another Department,.

I had heard of a British Army unit which was just outside the boundary of the French base so we decided we would walk up there in the evening and have a drink in their Sergeants Mess.

We were made very welcome and had a really good night then strolled back towards our accommodation, I left the WRAF Sergeant at her billet then continued towards my own room. Before getting there I realised that I would probably have difficulty in getting up in the morning as there was no one else in the accommodation and I did not have an alarm clock. I decided that I would get to the HQ and sleep in the office, the problem was I had had a few pints to drink and didn't know exactly where to go in the dark. I saw some headlights approaching and a French army jeep pulled over, the two MPs asked me where I was going I told them the HQ building, so they offered me a lift.

Fortunately I had my passes with me so was admitted through the security screen without difficulty. I found two chairs and put them together and promptly dropped off to sleep. The next thing I remember was being woken by my Wing Commander who said “have you been here all night?”

I admitted that I had, and said I had wanted to be available if anything had kicked off. He said “good show, now off you go and get breakfast”. Whilst leaving the room I heard

him say to the Colonel “that is dedication for you” I was pleased to have a shave, shower and get some clean clothes, then breakfast before returning to work.

After a couple of days it was decided that we had been “bombed out” of our base and we

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were to relocate to another alternative site, we were told that it would be a caravan, in a

field, with no facilities, so I said to the USAF Sergeant I am going to get us something so that we can have a drink whilst we were there, I got 2 one litre bottles of beer and a half bottle of whisky, when we arrived at the caravan I found that the other fellow had brought a quart of milk. At this stage our party was down to the RAF Squadron Leader and us two sergeants. Of course we had to keep going throughout the night. The Squadron Leader asked me what we had to drink, so we shared the two bottles of beer. Much later, again he said have we anything else to drink, I said that I had the whisky but nothing to mix it with, not even cold water. I did not want to drink the whisky neat. Tom the USAF Sergeant said he had brought the milk. The Squadron Leader said he had drank milk with a tot of whisky previously and suggested we try it, we did, it was surprisingly good and helped to pass the long hours of the night away. You will notice that none of the officers either brought anything or offered to pay anything towards the cost of the drinks.

The following day we packed up and returned to Fontainebleau, our war was over. Before leaving Fontainebleau I was promoted to substantive Flight Sergeant. I never saw the WRAF Sergeant again. I heard she had been sent home but I never really knew for sure.

MY NATIOAL SERVICE ABROAD – Part 1 FRANCE by Edmond Clements

During my two years National Service in the Royal Air Force between 3 January 1955 and 20 December 1956. I had the rare good fortune to encounter several high ranking and heroic officers who were celebrated for their wartime exploits. My good luck was entirely due to my posting to the top secret headquarters of Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) at Fontainebleau, France.

AAFCE was part of N.A.T.O. (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and there were similar Northern headquarters in Oslo, and Southern headquarters in Naples, all staffed by airmen of the 14 NATO nations. They included small naval and army liaison units. All three organisations were under the command of S.H.A.P.E. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) in Paris, and a Supreme Allied Commander, usually American. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had been the first in 1951.

In the ACOS Training section of AAFCE where I worked was the illustrious and handsome Group Captain A.D. Mitchell, at 32, the youngest Group Capt. in the Royal Air Force. He was married to a French Countess and drove a big American car. He later became Equerry to the Queen and retired as Air Commodore Sir Dennis Mitchell, commander of the Queen's Flight. There was also Wing Commander Foster, RCAF, Lt. Floyd T. Wood, USAF, Major Rosengrants, USAF, the Belgian Major Capon, and the admin office run by Sgt. Les Dodd. I shared an office with my friend Bob Logan, a USAF airman from Heflin, Louisiana, and the whole section was under the command of the splendidly elegant and aristocratic French Général de l'Armée de l'Air Henri de Rancourt de Mimérand, who occupied the large office at the end of the corridor with his name on the door, but was rarely seen.

Many outstanding officers were chosen for their wartime experience and skills, and like all who were posted there, I too was selected for this prestige posting after completing the Administration Course at RAF Hereford, followed by an exam and interviews. I have no doubt that my Grammar School and Commercial School education was valued, but I

was one of the best pupils out of about 40 on the RAF course, and I also had knowledge of French. I then had to wait several weeks for top secret clearance while Scotland Yard checked out my background and ancestry to see if there were any anarchists criminals or

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anything that would make me a security risk. Apparently not, and in fact I was cleared for the even higher 'Cosmic Top Secret classification, giving me access to the headquarters buildings and top secret documents. A rubber stamp used on documents of this classification can be seen in my autograph book which was signed and stamped by all in my section when I left for Germany near the end of my service. We were warned never to discuss our work with anyone, including colleagues in the headquarters, and on leaving the RAF to remain forever silent under the Official Secrets Act.

ACOS Training planned and conducted huge international aerial training exercises in Europe, combined with army and naval participation. These exercises were given code names and were headlines in the media, but top secret in their execution. They involved massive combined military operations across Europe which could not be concealed from the public .When on leave in the UK I found it strange to hear them mentioned on BBC radio when they had been planned by a small group of officers with whom I had been working for months. They were based on the real-life strategic scenario at the time, estimates of Russian military strength, and the locations of their nuclear missiles. They were intended as deadly serious practice for a nuclear attack which was a very real possibility. Day by day I had access to the most chilling data and maps showing the many nuclear missiles pointed at us from locations in the USSR and its communist satellites, and the Western European cities and populations which would be annihilated. This was truly scary stuff dominated by a massive map of Europe on which were plotted

the Soviet targets like a James Bond set, except this was for real. This was the Cold War

War and we lived every day with the very real threat of a nuclear missile attack at any time without warning. It would only take four minutes for a Russian missile to reach us. This was the era when the American Strategic Air Command kept giant B52s permanently in the air and fully armed with nuclear weapons. It only required the word of the President for them to proceed to their allotted targets.

We were taught elementary precautions against radioactive fallout, and there were occasional practice recalls of personnel to the headquarters signaled by a siren which could be heard for miles around. On hearing this, all personnel were required to immediately return to their posts in the headquarters. I can only remember one such occasion, when I had gone out with a friend early one evening. We were about a mile away when it sounded but we decided not to return and to claim that we hadn't heard the siren. We hid in the forest for hours before returning to our rooms late that evening. To our surprise we were never questioned.

And so it was that, among several famous senior officers there, I met the most notable of all, Wing Commander Harold (Micky) Martin, Colonel Paul Tibbetts USAF, and the daughter of Commodore Medley RN. Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Embry GCB, KBE, DSO & 3 Bars, DFC, AFC, GCB, KBE, DSO & 3 Bars, and DFC, (retired as Marshall of the RAF)

When I heard that they needed an organist at the RAF Chapel, I offered my services without hesitation. As an ex choirboy I was familiar with the hymns and psalms and relished this opportunity to perform. I was welcomed by the Chaplain, Squadron Leader Rev. Richard Gutteridge who became my friend, and I played every Sunday morning and evening and for some big Ceremonial occasions such as the Annual Battle of Britain

Commemoration service held in the cinema with about 600 airmen and top brass. I did not know was that the Commander-in-Chief, A.C.M. Sir Basil Embry, would attend the Chapel every Sunday morning, sitting only a few feet from me in the reserved front pew with his wife and daughter. To be so close to such a figure was astonishing enough, but

even this was surpassed when he shook my hand and thanked me every week after the service. For a man of his god-like rank to do this was practically unknown

Along with a couple of friends who attended the Chapel every Sunday, we were invited

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by the Rev.Gutteridge to join him at the wedding reception of Sir Basil Embry's Personal Staff Officer for which the C-in-C had offered his grand official residence. I think Gutteridge, who conducted the wedding, wanted to sneak us in to enjoy this rare experience. Indeed, in civilian clothes we passed anonymously among the crowd of distinguished guests, and I soon found myself standing close to Lady Embry and right in

front of Sir Basil, sipping my second large glass of champagne, while he addressed the wedding guests.

My eyes went to his hands, remembering that he had strangled two Gestapo guards while escaping from his cell, as he describes in his incredible escape story “Wingless Victory” He also commanded Operation Jericho in February 1944; the audacious plan to rescue French resistance prisoners from Amiens jail where they were due to be executed by the Gestapo. He was known as a brilliant and courageous, but unconventional, pugnacious and uncompromising leader, and made himself very unpopular at the Air Ministry with whom he fought many battles in his career. However, he eventually became Marshal of the Royal Air Force, but angry and frustrated, he chose early retirement and retreated to Australia to become a farmer. A truly remarkable and wonderful man.

Wing.Cdr. Sir Harold (Micky) Martin, retired as Air Marshal) KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC and

2 Bars, AFC I heard one day that he had arrived to take up a post at the headquarters, and that he was still troubled by remorse for the many that drowned as a result of breaking the dams. He was Guy Gibson's number 3, and was portrayed in the film by Bill Kerr, a fellow Australian.

One of the regular duties carried out by suitable headquarters staff involved manning the top secret underground teleprinter room throughout the night. This involved dealing with any emergency teleprinter messages received. A rota was posted regularly giving the names of those selected for this duty which required one officer and one airman. There was always a rush to see who was on the list. The list went up one day, and to my amazement and delight and the envy of my friends, I found that I had been paired with Wing Cdr. Martin on a forthcoming date. What incredible luck! While he was certainly already famous, the Dambusters were not yet the legends that they are today. I was only a young airman and there was no fraternising between the ranks, so I was not expecting a cosy chat.

When I arrived for duty in the secret underground Communications teleprinter room in the early evening, there was no sign of Martin. He arrived late, and after a brief spell in his chair, he suddenly got to his feet and told me that he was going downtown to have dinner with Sqdn. Ldr. Cook, and I should ring him there if I needed him. This was seriously negligent on his part, but fortunately the evening was uneventful. I was lying on the bed when he returned quite late and seeing me, suddenly said " You poor chap, you must be starving “Indeed I was. Throwing me a bunch of keys which landed on my stomach, he said “Here, take my car and go and get yourself something to eat“. Although I was only 18 he didn't ask me if I could drive. In fact I had never driven a car, but I certainly knew how. His black Mk1 Ford Consul was well known. I went up to ground level, found his car, and got in. The car was fairly new but the front bench seat was littered with bits of something like a car radio that had been taken apart. I couldn't wait to show my friends that I had Martin's car. They were never going to believe it!

I started the engine and tried the column gears. My problem now was that I had to go

from the headquarters area to the residential area which was separated by a minor road, each side of which were double steel gates manned by armed guards. Worse still was that only one gate was open diagonally opposite on each side. All this and I had never yet driven a car. I sat well back in shadow to hide my face, and set off. The car began to

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Income & Expenditure Account to 31 August 2018

£ £

Opening Balance 1 Sept 2017 481.23

Income

Reunion Raffle 230.00

Total 230.00

Expenditure

Reunion Gratuity

80.00

Yevres Wreath 25.00

Donations 55.00

Stationery 5.00

One.com Web Fee 67.10

Webmaster Gratuity 90.00

Postage 85.32

Total 407.42

Balance at 31 August 2017 303.71

In stock 3 ties priced at £11 each, 8 blazer Badges priced at £16.00 each and 80 Enamel Badges priced at £3.00 each

JOHN ALLISON UPDATE – May 2018

It is some while ago since I last spoke to you, and I believe you were not in good health at the time, and since which I have had a stroke, and been in hospital for a massive nose bleed, and recently under investigation for a possible return of my Cancer. It seems that the doctors at York Hospital think it was due to a massive infection, and I am currently on a large dose of tablets for at least for the next 5 days, then I have to have a check with them. I feel pretty good currently just now but get very tired quite quickly.

I am delighted to see the Newsletter back on stream. At some point I will give you an update on what I have been in recent years, as I am working at RAF Linton on Ouse, just one day, as their RAFA Liaison Officer. The RAFA are no help at all sadly, after working with them for over 40 years, and receiving my BEM, but I enjoy the work I am doing.

John H Allison BEM, GSM (Kenya) RAFA Northern Area Life Vice President

RAFA Representative RAF Linton on Ouse

AND FINALLY…….

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this Newsletter. If so please let me have your stories. All contributions will be greatly received.

Editor : DAVID ROGERSON, BROOKWOOD, HUNGERFORD, BURSLEDON, SOUTHAMPTON SO31 8DF

TEL 023 8040 2846 E-mail; davidrogerson@talktalk.net

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PICTURES – Courtesy Edmond Clements