BITS & PIECES or THE EDITOR'S CHIT CHAT 

by Dave Taylor

This edition is released earlier than scheduled so as to appraise members of certain items due to be raised at the AGM - scheduled for Thursday March 14th, 19:30hrs at Aldwark. Voting will be required on a resolution limiting the size of the committee, and approval will be sought for nominees for the various posts. With the incumbent standing down, Ray Kidd has stated he is willing to stand for the post of chairman, with certain reservations. 

* Due to my poor memory/stupidity, I seem to have mislaid an important note.  One of our members recently called to book places on our upcoming Bentley Priory & Uxbridge tour, but all I have on the list are Mr & Mrs......! Whoever it was, could you please call again asap. The same applies to anyone else wishing to travel with us on any of these trips; the more the merrier. As all are intended to be coach trips, we need numbers to make them viable. If enough interest is not shown, that particular trip will be cancelled.  Brief details: 

(April 17th) Cranwell : with a limit of 12 being imposed, this tour is now fully booked, but bookings required for: Coventry 

(June 12th) Midlands Air Museum: plus the opportunity for flights in the Air Atlantique collection of historic aircraft. Still awaiting data. 

(May 22nd) Bletchley Park : It is about a 2½ drive to this Milton Keynes based home of Enigma and the Code-breakers. There will be a guided tour of the grounds (1¼hrs), followed by a NAAFI-type lunch, and then a guided tour of the museum (1½-2 hrs). Having been before, I can recommend this. 

(July 17th) RAF Bentley Priory & Uxbridge : depart York 07:00; arrive Bentley 11:00, where we will be given a tour and lunch (at our cost). 14:30, Uxbridge, former 11 Group Ops Room and museum. Depart for York 17:00. Coach will depart from Copmanthorpe leisure centre, where there is ample parking space. 

For further details on any of the above call 01904 612542, or 10904 639543. 

Apologies again, this time for the lateness of the last issue; due the first week in December. Computer failure (not mine, honest) prevented us from getting the address labels required, and addressing envelopes by hand... well, with 447 other names nestling between Adams and Young, that wasn't even an option. Still, you probably wouldn't have been aware if I hadn't mentioned it! Overseas members fared better; a mere dozen or so were no problem to address and hand stamp. 

As we are planning a special edition of this newsletter for the 50th Anniversary of our Aldwark HQ in 2003, we are inviting anyone who has any significant photos or data from the early days to submit them for possible inclusion. All will be returned immediately I have scanned them into my computer. I especially would like a good photograph of the previous premises, in Coney Street. 

Saturday, March 16th offers something special at Aldwark. This is the day that members, Mel Smith and Jean Hearn are to be married, and they have decided to host "a bit of a do" in the club that evening, complete with buffet. All members are invited, normal club opening times apply. Finally: With the air show season almost upon us it might be an idea for anyone thinking of attending any show to first contact myself (01904 612542), or Fred Ullathorne (01904 639543), with regard to car sharing. No point travelling with empty seats, and there are often members looking for a lift, on a cost-sharing basis. 

* * I met a Dutch girl with inflatable shoes last week, phoned her up to arrange a date but unfortunately she'd popped her clogs. 

* * COVER STORY >From the Far East Transport Wing's Route Guide - a kind of in-flight magazine of the sixties (hence the somewhat stilted prose) - comes a piece entitled... SOMETHING TECHNICAL Your aircraft has lavished upon it all the care, if not always the affection, accorded a new-born child. Every day, rain or sun (usually rain), the technical chaps give it the once-over. Every couple of weeks they have the cowlings off, change the plugs and generally rummage about. (At least that's what they appear to be doing; actually they are following a strict schedule.) Then, every three months, the aircraft gets taken apart into quite small pieces and put together again - a long job and a thorough one. Other inspections are carried out and replacements fitted exactly as laid down in the little book. For example, the oil and tyres are changed every hundred flying hours, and the engines are changed about every thousand. These chaps - the fitters and mechanics - know their job, although when you see them they may not always be dressed for dinner. Hidden beneath the grease and suntan is a specialist in some aspect of aircraft engineering - radar, perhaps, or electrics. You'll find them all trade-proud, too, working until the job is finished, the clock notwithstanding. No one would pretend they are all angels (hear the Cpl/Tech when he drops a spanner) but they are all doing a very good job, often under trying conditions and, unlike the aircrew, they get very few little kudos out of it. To return to your aircraft. After the technical experts are satisfied, it is handed over to the flying crew who then carry out an air test to see that all the knobs behave in flight. Finally, just before you emplane, the Captain carries out a careful external inspection by way of a last-minute check ( you may have seen him walking round like a brass-hat looking for dust). Internal tests, running up the engines and a hundred and one safety checks are then carried out either at dispersal (that's where you got in) or at the end of the runway before getting airborne. No wonder you are feeling safe. And if you believe all that......

Continuing in the same vein, the following was submitted by Nev White. Actually, I snatched it out of his hand. GROUND FORCE No account of the Battle of Britain can be considered complete without taking into account the role of the ground engineers at the bases from which the fighters flew. Little has been documented about the vital role of these non-commissioned airmen, but even the lowest ranks had wide-ranging responsibilities for the airworthiness of aircraft which otherwise could not have flown. The above is an edited version of an original piece written by a Grp/Cpt Ray Howard. 

The following was composed by a Mr L H Day, of Mid Glamorgan. 

Wherever you walk, you will hear people talk, of the men that go up in the air. 

Of the daredevil way they entered the fray, facing death without turning a hair. 

They'll raise a big cheer and buy lots of beer, for a pilot home on leave; 

But don't give a jigger for a flight mech or rigger, with nothing but "props" on his sleeve. 

They'll just say "Nice day," then turn away, with never a word of praise. 

And the poor bloody 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 a kite, ‘till all hours of night, and turns up next morning at eight. 

He gets no rake-off for working till take-off; or for helping the aircrew prepare. 

But whenever there's trouble, it's "Quick, at the double." The man on the ground must be there. 

Each flying crew could tell it to you, 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 little of his fame around. 

He's one of the few, so give him his due. Three cheers for the man on the ground. 

* * Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. 

The majority of students starting at York Tech College this spring will have been born around 1984. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged. There has been only one Pope. They were 9 when the Soviet Union broke apart, do not remember the Cold War. They have never feared a nuclear war. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up. Tiananmen Square means nothing to them. They have never owned a record player. As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 19 pence. They have always had an answering machine. Most have never seen a TV set with only 3 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV. There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA is. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. They don't know what a towelling baby nappy is. 

Feeling old yet? There's more: 

They were born around the time Walkman was introduced by Sony. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI & WWII. They have no idea who JR is, so do not care who shot him. The Titanic was found? They thought we always knew where it was. Michael Jackson has always been white. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not pop groups.

PERSONALITY PROFILE No. 3

MAISIE HEYDENRYCH 

During our November 2001 visit to the Petwood House Hotel, and the 617 Sqn bar located therein, Maisie was seen to point out a figure in the photograph which adorns the wall over the fireplace; one person in probably two hundred personnel that feature in the picture. This innocent gesture led to the following revelation from the lady to whom I have often heard referred by members as, "that lady with the funny name". Well, now comes time for the words to be uttered: "Maisie Heydenrych, This Is Your Life." Or at least a small part of it. It is yet another human interest story of the kind that only seem to surface by chance - a word that would appear to be quite significant in this instance. But of that, more later. 

First, a little background. 

During the war, Maisie served in the WAAF, as a Teleprinter Operator, stationed in the signals centre at RAF Stanbridge, Leighton Buzzard; it was a job which someone had to do! And some of the intricacies of the work are revealed in the following composition by one of her co-workers at Leighton Buzzard: In the words of the prophet it is written.... And in the last days of the mighty feud it shall come to pass that Stanbridge shall be overgrown and a blanket of silence shall cover the place: Yea, even unto the auto room and WT. Weeds there shall be growing in our receivers: they shall spring up through the holes in the lids, and that which prints the page shall have ceased to clatter. Then shall the W/Ops return to their homes and shall shoot the line, saying, "Lo we have rendered unto the country a mighty service: we did take unto ourselves numbers and did sit at benches and make strange noises; dits and dahs made we, and did convey our meanings in strange manner. And we had wondrous machines which did emit howls and whistles: twenty cubic cubits was the size thereof: and we did twiddle knobs and watch the numbers, and sometimes adjust them to our satisfaction. And there was tape: holes made we in it and wavy lines thereon, and we could roll same up exceedingly swift. And our speech was of the code of Q and Z, for we had knowledge of such matters. And there were those whose raiment was a loose brown garment, who lay under benches and dismantled the works, and at whose touch the timepieces ceased to function: and they were wont to commune learnedly together concerning short circuits, frequency drifts and bunged up undulator pens; which was trouble of the innards: and the greatest of these was no joy. 

Also there were they who on their sleeves wore rings or stripes: and they that wore the rings were the mightiest. And they that wore the stripes did issue commands to them that were lowly: for they had perforce to carry that which was known as "the can." Many days did we labour - and nights. Nights when Satan did sit on our backs and wrap our heads in that which did cause us to close the eye and slumber. And our victuals consisted not of venison and the fatted calf, but of scollop and noodle: which was cheese gone wrong. But it has come to pass that the enemy has been scattered and laid low, our sojourn is at an end and we have returned to the dwellings of our forefathers: yea, even to our rightful places therein, that the years which remain to us may be spent silent in meditation and communion with the soul. 

* Maisie showed me samples of incoming signals. These passed through her hands en route from the squadrons, for onward transmission to various HQ's. (So unless your security clearance is tight and up to date, you should cease reading now! Or, with the fifty year veil having been lifted, perhaps we are OK.) Note on signal code letters: (A) Aircraft type. Occasionally gives such diverse details as engine type and ser. no's. (B) Unit or Squadron. (C) Incident details: Location, date and time etc. (D) Crew list: No., rank, initials, name, nationality, crew position. (E) Current location and condition of crew. (F) Ordnance and nav aids carried. (G) Cause of incident. (H) Aircraft state. (J) Unit assigned for repair or recovery. (K) Next of Kin (NoK). Full details. 

One signal is of interest in that it relates to the Tirpitz raid - about which Maisie is quite knowledgeable - but the other two were rather closer to home on the personal front. For Maisie, along with almost everyone back in those dark days, it seems, necessarily lived life to the full. Just as well, it would appear! 

The story begins in Llandudno, 1942, where Maisie (still a civilan) and her cousin were on a family holiday. Here the girls eventually met and paired up with two men. And although it went no further than a holiday romance for her cousin, the Maisie - Rupert pairing proved to be a little more endurable. Farmer's son, Rupert Stonier, being engaged in an essential occupation, was at the time deferred from service. But later, with women now taking over work on the farms, he joined the RAF as a B/A, eventually being posted to a Lancaster OTU in South Africa. It was here (by chance, it could be said), that Rupert met, and became firm friends with a Frank Chance. After completion of his training, Frank returned to England, and 617 Sqn. With him he carried a present for Maisie (by now a WAAF), from Rupert. Upon delivery, Frank asked Maisie for a date, but being faithful to Rupert, she refused. Undeterred, Frank insisted on giving her his address. 

On his return from South Africa, Rupert found himself posted direct to 40 Sqn, then based in Italy. The romance continued, until that day in 1944 when word reached Maisie that Rupert had "gone missing", flying from Foggia Main. After completing eight ops in the Wellington X, his crew had been selected to convert to the Liberator. This had been their first op on the type after conversion. With Frank being Rupert's best friend, Maisie wrote to inform him, and Frank, obviously not one to miss an opportunity, wrote back, asking her out to dinner. This time she accepted. Another romance blossomed, but there was a "heart in the mouth" moment when Maisie was handed one message for onward transmission. It referred to the crash-landing of 617 Squadron Lancaster NG181, at Sumburgh, in the Shetlands when returning from an op. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a name in the (D) list: F R Chance, but she heaved a sigh of relief when noting the name carried the suffix, uninjured. Three of the crew had bailed out and were listed as missing,* all those remaining aboard were uninjured. (G) Enemy action (H) Port inner engine damaged; extensive damage to port tailplane, elevator and rudder, widespread flap damage. (J) 56 MU. 

*The three "missing" crew members were eventually (three months later) listed as POW's, and it fell upon Frank Chance, plus other crew-members, to pass this information on to the POWs' wives. In a letter to Maisie, Frank stated that the news brought forth "tears of joy." A message referring to October 29th, 1944, is, naturally, marked: Secret. Brief details: (A) Lancaster 1, NF920; (B) 617 Sqn; (C) Landed in Sweden. Target Tirpitz (Tromso Fjord). Crew list (D) follows, then: (E) Unknown. Rear gunner believed interned Sweden; (F) Tallboy, IFF; (G) believed enemy action; (H) Cat E. Believed burnt, total. NoK informed. Frank Chance had also taken part in this raid, but returned safely. 

Later, Maisie says he drifted in and out of her life for a while, which is when she took up with J W McMurdo, a Canadian W/Op-A/Gnr. She was familiar with this crew from visits to the local pub. Mac, as he was known, flew with 26 OTU Wellingtons, from the nearby airfield at Wing, and he had asked her out a few times before, but had always been rejected. Now she succumbed; a date was agreed to. As fate would have it, on the very day she was due to meet Mac, the following message was passed to Maisie for onward transmission to HQBC, 43 Group, RCAF o/s, and records Glos. (A) Wellington X, MF116; (B) 26 OTU; (C) location unknown, time unknown. Dark sweepstake exercise. (D) gave crew details, which included: JW McMurdo (Canadian); (E) All missing, particulars unknown; (F) IFF, Gee; (G) unknown; (H) unknown; (J) n/a; (K) gave the NoK details. It later emerged that the aircraft had flown into high ground in the Cheshire area. (The crew are buried near Chester.) There was mention around this point of an Oscar, and a Bernard, but we won't get into that, apart from mentioning the fact that unfortunately, both were killed on ops. Frank, meantime, was still very much in the picture, but then along came Peter Heydenrych, and we all know what happened there. Or do we? Did Maisie ever relate to you the story of when she was first kissed by Mac - as far as things ever went back then, she assures me - she found the peak of her cap to be causing problems, so she took it off and hung it on a convenient gate-post out in the country. It must have been quite an effective kiss, for only when back inside the camp gates did she realize that she was improperly dressed for duty; had to plead with the police sergeant to let her out again so she could go and retrieve her hat. Maisie says that around this time she jokingly told people that she couldn't ever see herself as being married; the boyfriends didn't seem to stay alive long enough to make it to the church. Definitely a sign of the times.

Postscript. Whilst interviewing Maisie for the above article, she expressed a wish to possibly talk over old times with Frank Chance - for naturally, having married Peter, she had lost contact in 1946. I promised an attempt to make contact, and as a result got in touch with the 617 Squadron Archives and the Association, to see if they could help. They certainly could - their records appear to be extensive - and although Frank died in 1993, the association's secretary, Sqn/Ldr Ted Wass, had not only been a good friend of Frank's, remaining in contact to the very end, he had been the rear gunner on Frank's crew, and was one of those originally reported missing during that NG181 Sumburgh incident. It is indeed a small world.

Postscript to the postscript: It appears the aircraft was attacked and seriously damaged by enemy fighters, but after three of the crew had bailed out, the pilot found he was able to regain control, so decided to try and make it home. In this he was successful, but it later came to light that he was unlikely to have made it had the other crew members remained on board; the extra weight would probably have swayed the balance. Such are the fortunes of war. 

* * Two Eskimos in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft it burnt & sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it. 

* * DAVE'S DIARY 

On the day the Xmas newsletter was put to bed the club staged its last Dining In night of 2001, courtesy once again of that dynamic duo, Dick Gray and Gill Cornell, ably assisted by Ray Kidd. This was the usual high standard of Christmas fare and silly games; sort of plum duff and duff plum. Considering Gill was very much under the weather at the time, it was a magnificent effort all round. As usual, the photos are on the ‘net. The following Thursday it was my turn to be "under the weather." So much so I was forced to miss the atmospheric tour of Fairfax House, organised by Fred Ullathorne. Sixteen members did manage to attend this detailed recreation an 18th century Georgian Townhouse Christmas setting, and it is reported to have been well worthwhile. 

The evening of Saturday December 22nd featured our annual Xmas Draw at Aldwark, but the first (and up to now, only) snow of the season ensured a low attendance. Still, forty per cent of the 52 prizes were won by attendees! And no, we didn't cheat; my 5 were all above board, I assure you. The previous evening featured the ACA carol service at All Saints, and no snow to blame for the low RAFA turnout; although the congregation as a whole was the best for many a year. Seems to have been a glitch in the administration as well, for although the designated RAFA lesson reader was present, it seems the ACA had not been informed. He therefore had not been allotted a slot in the programme. Rather embarrassing really, especially as he is our Branch President. 

* * BRANCH LIBRARY Overlooked by many is the library on the second floor of our Aldwark premises. This contains lots of very interesting books, both fiction and non fiction, the latter not unnaturally focussing on aviation. There are also videos which members can borrow. Books and videos are occasionally donated by members, so take a look, things have probably changed since you last visited. And if you have any material you wish to dispose of, why not donate it? Please contact any committee member. 

* * Origins of Sayings -1 Every sailing ship had cannons for protection. Cannon of the times required round iron cannonballs. The master wanted to store the cannonballs such that they could be of instant use when needed, yet not roll around the gun deck. The solution was to stack them up in a square-based pyramid next to the cannon. The top level of the stack had one ball, the next level down had four, the next had nine, the next had sixteen, and so on. Four levels would provide a stack of 30 cannonballs. The only real problem was how to keep the bottom level from sliding out from under the weight of the higher levels. To do this, they devised a small brass plate ("brass monkey", which came from "powder monkey, the term for a navy gunner") with one rounded indentation for each cannonball in the bottom layer. Brass was used because the cannonballs wouldn't rust to the "brass monkey", but would rust to an iron one. When temperature falls, brass contracts in size faster than iron. As it got cold on the gun decks, the indentations in the brass monkey would get smaller than the iron cannonballs they were holding. If the temperature got cold enough, the bottom layer would pop out of the indentations spilling the entire pyramid over the deck. Thus it was, quite literally, "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." 

* * KNOW YOUR RAF RANKS 

Air Rank (MRAF, ACM, AM, AVM, AC) Leaps tall buildings with a single bound Is more powerful than a locomotive Is faster than a speeding bullet Walks on water Gives policy to God

Group Captain Leaps short buildings with a single bound Is more powerful than a tank engine Is just as fast as a speeding bullet Walks on water if sea is calm Talks with God

Wing Commander Leaps short buildings with a running start Is almost as powerful as a tank engine Is able to avoid speeding bullets Walks on water in indoor swimming pools Talks with God if special request is approved

Squadron Leader Can just clear a small hut Loses a tug-of-war with an engine Can fire a speeding bullet Swims well Is occasionally addressed by God

Flight Lieutenant Makes high marks when leaping small huts Is run over by locomotives Can handle a gun Dog paddles Talks to animals

Flying Officer Runs into buildings Recognises locomotives two times out of three Is not issued with live ammunition Can stay afloat if issued with a Mae West Talks to walls

Pilot Officer Falls over doorsteps Says, "I see no trains" Wets herself/himself with a water pistol Stays on dry land Mumbles to herself/himself

Warrant Officer Lifts tall buildings and walks under them Kicks locomotives off their tracks Catches speeding bullets in his teeth Freezes water with a glance Because – HE IS A GOD 

* * Late news; Not exactly stop press, as it hasn't yet started, although it probably would have had I not been advised of the following: We have received a request from Ms Leanne Rogers - a second year history student at York University - who wishes to interview members on their WWII experiences. It is intended to make data from this project available for future generations. Anyone willing to participate, please contact a member of the committee. 

* * Next edition is currently scheduled for distribution around June 1st. All items for inclusion are required by early May.

Last modified: April 07, 2002