It will be obvious to you that we all had a very happy time especially in respect of the 1950's Group as we had not been together for about 52 years.

Our immediate friends including Eric Sage,Adrian Reddall and Mike Appleton with their wives made for a very happy weekend.

You probably would not remember Alan Kimber or Graham Marsh as those two lads at that time though known to me were probably not within your immediate circle of friends. However I think that you will agree that the lads who were stationed at Shinfield Park were as a rule a decent bunch of fellows. Of course the sporty types such as Eric and myself tended to know more personnel than some of the others did and were more inclined to take part in the various pranks which took place from from time to time. Roy Whiteman who used to work with me in the Orderly Room said that on one occasion that he and David Standon (his father became a Methodist Minister) got up one night, blackened their faces and went to a local Sheep Farm and stole a Ram . They blackened their faces so as not to be recognized and let it free shunting it through the W.R.A.F.Block front door in the early hours of the morning, only for it to start running up and down the corridors with Flt.Sgt.(W) Gale in hot pursuit hoping to catch it. Apparently the Ram gave all concerned a good run for their money before its final arrest.

Dave Standon, instead of walking down the stairs to breakfast, would jump out of his top floor window, throwing his irons ahead of him and would land beside them moments later to avoid the long walk down the stairs. When working with him in the Orderly Room I remember that he received a parcel from a firm producing Ladies Sanijoy Briefs. This was a joke played on him by one of the lads. The parcel was addressed to S.A.C.W. Slandon. He passed them on to one of the girls on the Camp and thought no more about it when a letter turned up asking for Payment. Still he obviously ignored it and subsequently received further letters each one getting more severe. Things got to the point where he received a final warning failing which he was threatened with a County Court Summons unless Payment was made within a few days to which he replied to the effect that he was not of the sex who would normally wear them and in consequence had passed them on but at the time of writing was not in a position to trace them and forwarded a Cheque to cover the cost demanded. On yet another occasion he conspired over a Sunday night to put John Comley's bed on the top of the Airmen's Mess Roof with the Notice attached " John Com.slept here". Yet on another occasion he and Roy Whiteman who had acquired some paint ,took a late night walk to the Merry Maidens Pub (now known as "The Maidens") in Shinfield Road and painted the concrete busts of the ladies who were part of the frontage of the Pub the colour red and got caught at it. I never knew the outcome of that. Still an expert painter it was thought that Standon daubed yellow paint on some of the Command Buildings during the night prior to the A.O.A's Parade for the Annual Inspection the following morning. This could be seen as we were marching past for the "Salute". In company with Roy Whiteman he also removed the Guardroom Bell and buried it. They were found out  and Roy received a Reprimand as he was a Cpl. and Standon was given 7 days C.C.

Another thing which happened during my time was that there was a young fellow by the name of Mike Davies who was a real Country Boy from the Forest of Dean who received a lot of Mail from all over G.B.as a result of one of his friends jokingly writing to Tit Bits including his photograph stating that he had no girl friend and would like to make contact with a suitable girl. It was also stated that he would reply to all correspondence. This resulted in the Camp Post Room being completely inundated for several days with letters addressed to Mike Davies. On a different note on Radio Shinfield which you may remember used to be run by Roy Whiteman and Paul Hollingdale who later became well known on Radio Luxembourg and various other Radio Stations Nationally and  played a Record Request for the S.W.O., its title being "Young and Foolish". Jim Ayres who was known as "Dim Jim" was the Cpl. who worked with W.O.Young so the lads had a bit of a laugh over that as you can well imagine. The last happening of note whilst I was at Shinfield concerned Roy Evans (he worked as a Clerk to the Station Education Officer) who at that point in time was to be demobbed within days of this particular happening when he was seen by Gp.Cpt.Philip Baldwin whilst wearing R.A.F.Working Blue having a cigarette lit for him while standing on another person's shoulders from the top window of a double deck bus which had stopped outside the Camp Gate. When the Charge was read out I remember that Flt.Lt. Wood nearly started to laugh. W.O.Young of course remained Poker Faced as I also had to be, since at the time I worked in the Orderly Room and was often called upon to act as "Escort for the Accused". When Wood asked Evans why he had done this he replied by saying that he wanted a light. Evans was asked how much longer he had to do in the R.A.F. He replied "One more day Sir". Wood then asked whether he would be prepared to accept his punishment, to which he replied "Yes Sir" and was told that he would be confined to Camp for the rest of his Service.

At the Reunion I made a little speech mentioning you and several others who would have been with us had they not passed away

During my time there (at Shinfield Park) we had a young fellow from Leeds by the name of Bill Stather who was full of fun and like me for a time was the youngest lad on the Camp. He came to us as a Trainee Clerk Org (A.&S.Assistant) but was not exactly cut out for Clerical Duties. As a result he was moved to the Reproduction Section where he certainly made his mark by tearing the wrong half of the skin which had to be fixed to the copying machine. This resulted in all the typing needing to be repeated by the Section concerned. As a result he was moved from there to work in the Unit Gardens under the watchful eye of Ben Silver the Civilian Gardener in charge. Bill now being classed as an Admin Orderly and so came under the discipline of the Station Warrant Officer who at that time was W.O.Young. He had a dry sense of humour but we were always rather wary of him as he would blow hot and cold. I think that he liked Bill for his sense of humour and one day asked him what he thought of him and to give him an honest answer to which Bill replied that he considered him to be rather "Mephistophelian", to which W.O. Young asked what was meant by that. Bill replied that according to the Oxford Dictionary it meant that he could be described as being "cynically wicked". Bill used to find the longest words in his dictionary and then learn the meaning of them with the hope that he could use them at the earliest opportunity. I believe that he was trying to imitate the late Actor Leonard Sachs who used to announce the various Acts in the old T.V. Show called "The Good Old Days". On yet another occasion he was on Duty overnight as Armoury Guard which as a rule was nothing more than a "Sleeping Duty". Bill was very fond of his sleep and it happened that when his colleague had gone to the Airmen's Mess for supper that Bill decided to get his head down on his pillow and at the same time left the Armoury door ajar. This resulted in the Orderly Officer on his late night walkround entering the Armoury with ease. Bill was awakened and when asked what he thought he was up to as he was supposed to keep the door secure at all times he replied that he had left the door ajar as he did not wish to be disturbed when his colleague returned from supper. What the outcome of this was I never knew. Bill was always very smart in appearance and excellent at Rifle Drill and loved Drll Parades which most of us hated whenever they took place. I remember that on one Pay Parade which of course the Regulars were only too happy to attend that Bill put his "Best Blue" uniform on wearing at the same time boots bulled up to the limit. He was the only lad wearing his "Best Blue" on that Pay Parade. When it came to his turn to be paid he put on a performance which many of us who were there will never forget. A smart salute in real "Army Style" seldom seen at Shinfield followed for the Paying Officer, Flt.Lt.Watson to be taken by surprise for the top set of his false teeth to drop as they appeared to be rather loose fitting.

Before the Annual A.O.A's Parade there used to be a number of special Practices which Cpl.Ayres used to conduct. Being an ex Army man Cpl. Ayres was in his element. On the Camp he was known as "Dim Jim". Whether he knew this I don't know. On this particular "Practice Parade" we were taking the mickey out of poor Jim and when he thought that he had discovered the ring leader whom he thought was Junior Tech Leet, he ordered Leet to take the Parade and told us that we were to obey all Jim Leet's commands after which Leet promptly brought us to attention and said "Turn to the right" and we were dismissed with Dim Jim left on his own with us scarpering with our rifles to the Station Armoury as quickly as we could. We never heard any more about this "Incident" so I think that the Station Adjutant must have seen the funny side of the situation as we were only too pleased to do as we were commanded to do!!! I never enjoyed Parades .

I left the R.A.F.during September 1958. This coincided with my last opportunity to appear on the A.O.A's Parade which always took pride of place during the Summer. The afternoon prior to the Parade being held, the S.W.O. phoned me to ask me whether I was going on the A.O.A's Parade to which I obviously gave him an answer in the affirmative. He then told me that I was not to go on Parade after which I expressed my disappointment as it would be my last opportunity to be able to experience a Parade such as this!! By this time his patience was wearing a little thin and told that he was giving me an Order of "You are not to go on the A.O.A's Parade". He then phoned Wg.Cdr.Kelsey who was in charge of the Air Staff Registry where I worked and I was called to his Office where a smiling Wg.Cdr.Kelsey looked over the top of his spectacles and said to me "I don't think that you really want to go on the Parade do you Causon?" "I don't think that you really do, be Duty Section Clerk instead". This suited me fine as you can imagine.

This must be my last story against myself which I now will relate before signing off. In my first few weeks at Shinfield, my bunk was in the cook's corridor in Walmsley Block where they used to gamble a great deal with money chinking about into the early hours of the morning on many occasions. I never joined them but never the less I got on with them all very well.It always was an advantage to know the cooks as they always looked after me at meal times. During my time of being a Resident in their corridor they once played a prank on me by waking me up during the hot Summer of 1956 early one Friday morning when there was to be a Station C.O.'s Parade. I was awakened   at about 5.30 A.M. to tell me that it was 7.15 A.M.and that I would be late for Parade if I did not hurry up and that I would not have time for Breakfast. I hurriedly got up ,washed ,dressed,shaved and arrived for breakfast only to find that the Mess was not even open. Even so I took it in good part but when I heard that one of the older lads was leaving the R.A.F.who slept in another part of Walmsley Block I asked to be moved and my wish was granted.

Memories of R.A.F. Shinfield Park, Reading from January 1955 to September 1958

I remember quite vividly my welcome to R.A.F. Shinfield Park, Reading as a young man who had not reached the age of 18 years of age. It was obviously known to the Orderly Room Staff who represented Postings in that I was to become the youngest Airman stationed there. On arrival I was immediately ruffled by the explosiveness of the “Welcome” if one could describe it as such. “Stand to attention when you address a Senior Aircraftman” was the Command. The lads who were employed in the Orderly Room at the time included Dizzy Atkins, John Sussex, Roy Whiteman, Cpl. Dave Reeves who were all Londoners plus David Sawyer who was from Newcastle. I remember that Dave Reeves was positioned well away from the Area of Reception within the Orderly Room and just carried on with what he was doing taking no notice of the entertainment other that a typical open faced grin on his face which was always part of his personality. The Lads from London in their jovial manner addressed me as “George” and this name stuck with me for my entire 3 years Service. Roy Whiteman became a good friend of mine and at this time of writing in the year 2020 we are still in regular contact either by Phone or by Email. The Senior N.C.O's of the Unit Headquarters included Warrant Officer C.J. Metcalf who was a real gentleman and a no nonsense type of person but at no time did he make his Junior workforce feel intimidated. The Sergeant immediately in charge of us was Sgt. Brian Holland who always appeared to be of placid disposition but very efficient and a good Boss to be in charge of young people. The S.W.O was Warrant Officer W. Young who used to swagger around the Camp with his “Pace Stick”. He was in charge of Camp Discipline and as a result the Lads used to avoid him as often as possible for fear that he would find an excuse to apprehend them. In his Office there were 2 Corporals namely Fred Fields and Jim Ayres (we called him “Dim Jim”) They were a fine pair together. Cpl. Ayres had previously served in the British Army during the W.W. 2 and still had the temperament of an Army N.C.O as he had served in a Guards Regiment. Naturally he stood out as he still had the appearance of a Guardsman with even his appearance always to be immaculate. The problem with Jim however was that he was always looking for things which were not as they should be for lads who were of a lower Rank . For example he would notice the clip of a Fountain Pen to be seen below the Lip of the upper pocket of our Uniform. “Take that pen out of your pocket Laddie” would be the comment. Fred Fields was responsible for fixing the Duty Roster for other Ranks and woe betide any Airman to whom he took  a dislike. The lads did not trust him. He used to rustle up lads to attend the Tombola night and usually would include the words in so doing “When are you on Security Guard again?” This was a Duty which no one enjoyed doing as it was necessary to stand at the Entrance to the Camp outside the Guardroom. If the I .R.A had visited the Camp there is no way that an Airman could have apprehended them whilst on Guard Duty. I used to volunteer for Sleeping Duties such as Armoury Guard and Duty Registry Clerk. Our Adjutant at the time was Flt. Lt. F.J.H. Wood who had come up through the Ranks being Commissioned at the end of W.W. 2.  and was awarded an M.B.E. He was very much respected and popular with all the Lads on the Station and I believe that when it was announced that he was to be Posted from Shinfield Park prior to him becoming the Station Adjutant that the Lads got up a “Petition” asking that his Posting from Shinfield Park should be prevented. He was a fine all round Sportsman especially Cricket and Football for whom he represented the Station in both Sports. The Williams family as Civilians were very much in evidence as far as the “Cultural Side” of the Camp was concerned in relation to their effort in connection with the “Shinfield Players”. Mr. Williams , Senior was the Barrack Warden and his son I believe was employed in the Stores Section. Paul Hollingdale the well known D.J who eventually became known on Radio Luxembourg (208 Metres) was during the years to which I refer was a young Corporal who also was employed in the Stores Section later of course to be promoted Sergeant and Posted  I believe to Germany. After leaving the R.A.F he secured a position in Vienna where I believe he lived for the rest of his life. He attended one of our Reunions but his health deteriorated and he was unable to attend any Reunions after. Sqn. Ldr. Norman W. Wilson was the Commanding Officer of the H.Q. (U) F. T. C. . He again had been a fine Sportsman who had represented Shinfield Park  at both Football and Cricket . In fact he Captained the Station Cricket Team. Having mentioned some individuals who always stood out for various reasons I now mention others who became well known in their own right. Firstly Tom Tully who during his time at Shinfield worked in the Station PBX. On Demob he became a Comic Writer .  He was probably best known for his Comics Roy of the Rovers. He also was involved with the Publications namely The Steel Claw, Kellys Eye , Heros the Spartan and Dan Dare. I knew Tom very well as we both played Cricket for R.A.F. Shinfield Park. I never realised that he had hopes of becoming a writer in any capacity but he always had a very definite sense of humour. Our Cricket Captain Sqn. Ldr.Norman Wilson was very much of the “Old School” when it came to the discipline of our Team. On this occasion R.A. F .Shinfield Park were playing R.A.F. White Waltham in the then R.A.F.  “B” Competion. The Opposition had a well known Home Command Cricketer playing for them and it was imperative that we should dismiss him as soon as possible . I was fielding at Point and Tom was fielding at Mid Wicket. We had an arrangement before play began that if the ball came to me that I would throw the ball straight to him. This in fact happened and our Captain was furious with me . In the majority of cases it is unwise to run to a misfield but this batsman took a chance ,Tom was ready and threw the ball directly to our Wicket Keeper Flt. Lt. Ted Marshall who successfully ran the batsman out during which time I was being reprimanded but Sqn. Ldr. Wilson did not realise that this was a prearranged ploy to get this batsman out. He was a little taken aback when I pointed out that this had been prearranged!!! Initiative has to be used sometimes .I finished the game by taking 3 wickets in successive balls. Another Airman working in the PBX was the Professional Footballer Maurice Evans who played for Reading Football Club for a few years who also became quite well known as a Manager of Shrewsbury Town F.C , Reading F.C and Oxford United. Another lad who became well known throughout the U.K as an Actor is Mike Havord . He was a Star in the Series of Star Wars on T.V. . Mike was the R.A.F. Shinfield Park Goalkeeper during his National Service. When playing I remember that he always wore a Cap. Bernie Allen who was the Driver to Air Vice Marshall Joe Cox (S.A.S.O.) on occasions played cricket for Berkshire Gentleman plus the fact that he was a Footballer of quality in Non League Football. He also had his own Jazz Band . He is the father to the famous Pete Allen the Clarinettist  After his Service in the Royal Air force he formed his own successful Business and produced Replicas of Manx Norton Motor Cycles. Bernie also used to take part in Motor Cycle Racing in several parts of the World.

Sqn. Ldr. Sir Peter Yarranton the Rugby International who was Knighted for his Services to Sport was also at R.A. F. Shinfield Park . One last person in the Sporting field was Sqn. Ldr. Alan Shirreff who played County Cricket in turn for Hampshire ,Somerset and Kent. One Lad who became a Professor at Nottingham University namely is Philip Gammage .He when at Shinfield was doing his National Service. He worked in the Air Staff Branch as the Flight Safety Clerk. He was also a very gifted Violinist who as a Teenager was a member of the National Youth Orchestra. On Demob he specialised in Education and has held very responsible Positions in Adelaide, parts of Europe and the U.K also. The various positions he has held can make for some very interesting reading on the Internet especially for those of us who know him personally.

I am now going to relate some other stories relating to certain activities undertaken by the other Ranks though perhaps a little risky at times yet comical to a reader. Prior to the Annual A.O.A's Inspection there was always a period when additional Drill Parades were arranged. 

Cpl. Ayres (Dim Jim) was detailed by the S.W.O to conduct these which the Lads used to find quite amusing as they would indirectly not carry out the Commands as Jim required and so he  considered on this particular occasion that J.T. Jim Leet was responsible. With no hesitation Jim ordered Jun. Tech. Leet to take the Parade and that we were to obey all Orders of Command.  Jim Leet who worked in the Transport Section immediately gave the Order to Dismiss. We all obeyed and 

Dim Jim was left standing alone on the Dais with the Flag flying high and no Airmen left to drill. We never heard anything more about the incident from any source fortunately. During the course of the night prior to the A.O.A's Inspection the following morning a couple of the Lads obtained a tin of Yellow paint and daubed the Command Building behind the Dais with it. On another occasion a couple of Lads paid a visit at night and brought a fully grown Sheep back to the Camp and let it free to the Hanbury Block which was occupied by the W.R.A.F. Girls . It is rumoured that the overweight Flt.Sgt. (W) Gale was engaged in the chase for its capture. It was never found out who was responsible. There was a very amusing incident when Roy Evans whilst wearing RAF Working Blue was seen outside the Camp Main Entrance by Gp. Capt. Philip Baldwin whilst standing on another persons shoulder having a cigarette lit for him from the top window of a Double Decker Bus. When the Charge was read out to the Adjutant Flt.Lt. F.J.H. Wood he had to stifle his amusement in the glare of the S.W.O. who read the Charge Statement. As Evans was to be discharged the next day his punishment was that he was to be confined to Camp for the rest of his Service. My friend Roy Whiteman on occasions used to act as a D.J for Radio Shinfield. One Request being for the S.W.O Young and Dim Jim Ayres  . The Song being called “Young and Foolish”. There is also the Story of Bill Long who on a regular basis would go A.W.O.L during the Hop Picking Season in Kent. It had been the habit of his family to take part in this exercise from the time of his youth. He was eventually charged with being A.W.O.L but refused to accept the C.O.'s Punishment and elected to be tried by Court Marshall. I remember that Bill used to play the Guitar and the last song he played in the NAAAFI  the night before the Hearing was “When the Saints go Marching In”. Needless to say he accepted the C.O's punishment in the end and a Court Marshall did not take place. Bill was a real Cockney Lad and quite harmless really. Another amusing story can be told of one lad being on Armoury Guard Duty who rather enjoyed his sleep left the Armoury Door on a jar so as not to be disturbed when his colleague returned from his NAAFI Break. When the Orderly Officer arrived on the scene he walked straight into the Armoury and woke up the Airman concerned and asked the reason why he had not secured the door . The reply was that he did not want to disturbed on his colleagues return. The lad was let off being charged and very fortunate at that. David Standon was another lad who instead of walking along a corridor and down a flight of stairs prior to going for breakfast used to throw his utensils out of his Bunk window and jump straight onto the grass below. His back started to give him trouble and I am not surprised that he had to go to RAF Chessington for treatment. At one point a very keen Police Sergeant was Posted to the Camp and he used to delight in inspecting the personal Baggage when lads were collecting their Pass when taking Annual Leave etc.. On one occasion he did this once too often when this one Lad put some loose Raiser Blades in between his belongings and this Police Sergeant cut his hands as a result. It was his own fault for not being more careful. On one occasion when I was on Guard he turned up at 0400hours when supposedly “Off Duty” to see if the Security Guard was standing on the Gate. William Stather who like me was the youngest Airman at Shinfield had a very healthy Appetite and at a Station Concert before Christmas was asked to come to the Stage and told to close his eyes and to move his head forward towards the bowl as it contained a sample of food which he would enjoy. He did this only to find that his face was covered in Treacle. Fred Fields was acting as M.C  for the evening but William got his own back by shaking hands with Fred Fields who did not realise that by the same token William had smeared his own hand with the same treacle with which he had been plastered and what is more the Concert was not over!!  Will Stather was always fit for a laugh and on this occasion he dressed in Best Blue , Peaked Cap and highly polished Boots for the Weekly Pay Parade. When his turn for Payment came he marched to to Table where the Pay Officer was handing out the money to the Lads and saluted as though he was in the Guards . Flt. Lt. Watson who was paying the money was so taken aback that he nearly dropped his False Teeth as we could visibly see his top dentures drop from the roof of his mouth. One peach of a story relates to 

John Comley who was a Fulham Football Club fanatic. After a weekend at home on returning to Camp he found that his Bed was missing from his Bunk.  Come daylight  it could be seen having been placed on the Roof of the Airmen's Mess  with a large Notice saying “John the Com slept here” which was not so far from our Accommodation.

On a more serious note during my years there were some very brave Officers at Shinfield. One of the few included Wg.Cdr. Bernard  J. Jennings.AFC , DFM . Another Officer who was an Exchange Officer of the  U.S.A.A.F by the name of Col Demetrios Karnezis was in the Air Staff Branch and highly decorated. He was known as Col. “Jim” Karnezis. Our C in C was Air Marshall Sir Richard Atcherley who also was a very well known Pilot before the 2^nd. World War broke out.

The Living Conditions at R.A.F . Shinfield Park  were second to none , the food was excellent and our Accommodation would have been considered some of the best  available in the Royal Air Force at that time. The Officers in my opinion were some of the finest of men I had the privilege for whom I ever worked in my whole “Working Life” . Never in Civilian Life did I ever meet Administrative Personnel to compare with those men. They had the ability to get the best out of their Junior Workers without trying to impress.

This next section was sent on 27/9/20

Michael Rockell who was on the Books of Arsenal at one stage of his Sporting Career who ultimately made his name with Wycombe Wanderers prior to them becoming a Football League Club. Michael represented Flying Training Command also on occasions on the Left Wing  

Ron Green who played for Burton Albion was also stationed at Shinfield Park. Stuart Leary a South African Sportsman who was also a well known Centre Forward for Charlton Athletic and also played Cricket for Kent. It will be observed that a lot of well known Personnel were stationed at Shinfield Park when National Service was the requirement for Males reaching the age of 18years One must not forget the wonderful Actor by the name of Michael Williams who married Dame Judy Dench. Michael reached the esteemed Rank of Corporal (working in P2/P3 Section) during his National Service. It was often wondered why he was not an Officer .At that time we had no idea that he was to become an Actor of such Fame. Another unknown and I am sure forgotten name is that of MIMI  LEGG who had grown up in the West Indies as her father was serving in the British Army. She developed a love of Cricket and as a child was a Playmate of the late Roy Marshall who had represented the West Indies and who also played for Hampshire County Cricket Club for many years as their Opening Batsman. Mimi formed a Cricket Team among the W.R.A.F girls and in their first Season actually won a Cup for the  Station in a Knockout Competition organised for young women in the W.R.A.F. 

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