Tag Archives: RAF

Hangar 146

12 Tuesday Dec 2017

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Tuesday 5th December 2017 ko 19.45

Friendly

ROYAL AIR FORCE 2 (Campbell 57 Harbottle 67)

HALESOWEN TOWN 0

Att c40 at RAF Cosford Outdoor Stadium

If you’re roughly my age you’ll remember RAF Cosford as where the UK Indoor Athletics Championships were held in the 70’s and 80’s. I remember the sound of athletes feet against the wooden boards as they ran around the steeply banked 200 metre circuit. Here Seb Coe set the indoor world record for the 800 metres at 1:46.00 in 1981. You’d like to see that wouldn’t you? Continue reading →

Johnson Rag

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Sunday 30th June 2013

Twinwood Airfield near Bedford

Entry £4

At the risk of a bad pun this place wasn’t on my radar, but Dad’s a proud member of the National Service (RAF) Association, and they organised a day out here. My job was to drive, and plug the postcode into the satnav.

Being ex-forces, and therefore organised, the trip included lunch at the RAFA club in Bedford before a cavalcade of cars made the short trip via the village of Clapham ( a point learned- I thought the only Clapham was in London!) to the airfield.

The base was RAF Twinwood during World War II and is best known for being the airfield where in 1944 Glenn Miller boarded a Norseman aircraft, bound for France, and was never seen again. It seems slightly odd that a museum to him is in the control tower, the last place anyone saw him, but it is a fascinating insight to the time and to a man who, at least initially many thought of as a coward, until it was proven that his concerts were so valuable to morale, it more than outweighed any potential use he would have been as a fighting soldier.

That however isn’t all that’s on offer; there’s more museums on the site, based around the time of the Second World War, including a reconstruction of a WAAF’s hut. That caused a few smirks amongst the veterans,

“We’d have never got away with the stove like this!”

“My blankets were better folded…” and so on.

For those of us with no memory of that time the Summer of 44 museum is a wonderful collection of the mundane, the scales, the pots and pans, and the posters of the time. On their own these things mean nothing, together and in context they offer a viewpoint to the past.

There’s also the only Wartime Fire Service museum in the UK here,  it takes the form of a 1940’s utility station inside one of the Nissen huts, and comes complete with fire truck!

A poignant section is the museum dedicated to aircraft recovery. You see the bent propellers and twisted engine parts, but what stops you in your tracks is the little photo of the pilot and crew with their ages. Few seemed to be over 25, it was something to reflect upon over a mug of tea in the NAAFI.

For me, as is the case with a lot of what I do, its the little things that resonate most with me. Be it the book on 300 ways to cook an egg, or the ARP warden’s hat, these are the things that with a little imagination put you right in the position of those people less than a century ago. That included the black edged postcard sent to inform a wife than in fact she was now a widow. That reminded me that in any war people on both sides suffer, and I have too many German friends to look at it any other way.

http://www.twinwoodairfield.co.uk/

The Swedish Connection

15 Monday Oct 2012

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Sunday 14th October 2012 ko 10.30am

Upper Thames Valley League Division 3

ABBA ATHLETIC 1 (Harwood 78)

FC HAGBOURNE 3 (Moon 19 Lawson 73 Wallsworth)

Att 12 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

It was about time I did another Sunday League ground, and ABBA Athletic now play at Sunderland Drive Playing Field, in Bicester rather than at Kirtlington where I saw their Banbury & Lord Jersey side around 18 months ago. ABBA remain very much the baby of Tony Bagnall, one of the few stalwarts of local football to gain national recognition, being awarded an MBE 2 years ago. But why the name, I hear you ask? The club was originally formed as a revival of another Bicester club, Southwold but when the club was registered it was discovered that there were still unpaid fines due from the old Southwold club. Rather than face that liability the officials opted to choose another name who what to choose? It just so happened that “Money Money Money” by ABBA was playing on the radio at the time…… I’m just pleased Brian Hyland’s most famous hit wasn’t on the radio then!

ABBA, were set up and remain a real force for good. Half of all funds raised goes to charity, and Tony’s benevolent influence means the game is played for the right reasons, fun and fitness. To a backdrop of gliders taking off from Bicester Aerodrome, formerly RAF Bicester the two sides played an entertaining game, on a slippery surface. I can certainly report just how slippery, as I went flying when returning a ball!

There really wasn’t much between the two sides, besides slightly better finishing from the visitors. Jon Moon blasted home for the opener, before an exchange of goals from Andrew Lawson for Hagbourne and Wayne Harwood for ABBA maintained the one goal difference. A point would have been fair but Thomas Wallsworth stole in at the back post to give the game a slightly unrealistic margin of victory. Of course the real winners here are the legion of young people under Mr Bagnall’s guidance. Long may that continue.

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Procedure

29 Sunday Jul 2012

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Tuesday 24th July 2012 ko 19.00

Pre-season Friendly

RAF BRIZE NORTON SELECT 2 (Rockley 7 Groves 47)

CARTERTON FC 3 (Fitzmartin 68 74 Duerden 72)

Att 21 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No programme

Bottle Diet Coke £1.20

The normal procedure to get into an RAF base is to simply turn up with photo ID and time, and after checks as to your address and purpose of visit you’ll be allowed in. That was the case when I watched Benson Lions at RAF Benson, but with the Olympics imminent all military bases are on “Heightened” alert, so more stringent procedures are in place.

I phoned the Carterton manager Martin Wilkinson, and its purely down to his kindness that Lee and I were able to watch this game at all. The base asked that over and above the normal procedures, that all players, coaches and spectators should submit details for scrutiny before arrival, and that everyone should arrive en masse.

That meant meeting at Carterton’s ground, Kilkenny Lane, and driving in convoy to the base, around 5 minutes drive away. The check-in at the guard post was remarkably efficient, and in was interesting to see the departure board, exactly as you’d see at a domestic airport, but with destinations such as Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. I considered the memorial garden just outside the main gate, now in use since repatriation flights moved here from Royal Wootton Bassett. My fun evening, suddenly had a dark edge. Also of interest was the list of what you can’t take on a flight to Afghanistan. I quote, “The Sun, FHM etc.” Innocuous enough to western eyes, but not to an ultra-orthodox Islamic state.

From there we drove round to a large sports ground. Two football pitches, the remnants of an artificial wicket, and a positively gargantuan assault course. Lee took pictures, I chatted to the referee, the RAF’s Billy Moggach, and a bored WAG settled down with her copy of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It turns out that there are many links between the two sides, indeed the Carterton reserve keeper was playing for Brize tonight! The Brize team consisted of members of the 3 teams that play on the base, in military leagues, which I pondered must mean when the base is on “Heightened” alert it must be virtually impossible for a civilian to watch a game!

With the Hercules aircraft providing a spectacular backdrop, Brize made by far the better start and deservedly opened the scoring when Aaron Rockley’s curling
shot found the top corner of Damien Mulhall’s net. The hosts looked far better organised and it was of little surprise that they double their lead just after half time, Phil Groves having all the time in the world to walk the ball in.

The game was turned on its head as late as then 68th minute, when the visitors finally learned to play together. A neat one-two set up Ben Fitzmartin on the
edge of the box and he blasted home. That was followed up by Mike Duerdon’s shot from a similar position, and the victory was won just 6 minutes after the comeback begin, with Fitzmartin doing well to follow-up a Lewis Brownhill free kick to nod home.
On a worrying note Carterton right-back Aaron Perry had to be taken to hospital suffering with breathing difficulties, manager Wilkinson missing his side’s come-back to take him, but I understand he suffered no ill-effects.

All in all this was both an interesting and spectacular evening out. I’d like to thank Lee for spotting it, and Martin Wilkinson for allowing us on the guest list. Martin, I promise I’m not scouting for anyone!