208 Squadron detachment to Rhodesia...

[petermcleland]

It's a long time since I flew in to Harare, but the sheds suggest this is indeed Harare International airport.

Andrew,

I think you are probably right because although the detachment was to Thorn Hill for air to ground firing practice, we also did a goodwill tour which included Salisbury (New Sarum Airport) as it was called then. I'm thinking that we must have used that visit as an opportunity to assemble that photograph :flying:

[Garry Russell]

Out of interest Peter

Did you cross career paths with any of you RAF mates or is it just so many long ago happy memories??

Regards

Garry

[petermcleland]

Out of interest Peter

Did you cross career paths with any of you RAF mates or is it just so many long ago happy memories??

Yes Garry,

Alastair Macnab studied with me in Ealing when we were getting our ATPL licenses then after a spell with Kenya Airways he joined BOAC so we met again some time after British Airways formed...He retired as a 747 Captain. I spent a week in March this year with Roy Morris at his home in South Africa and that was when I took my Elephant pictures:-

http://www.petermcleland.com/ADDO

Roy appears in one of those elephant shots.

Also after suddenly making contact with Pete Biddiscombe after his daughter-in-law spotted one of the pictures of him that I published somewhere here, I was led to contact other 208 Squadron chaps and each contact received a personalised copy of my booklet on "208 Squadron in Kenya"...This in turn has led to further contacts and I'm booked to attend a Hunter pilot's reunion at Old Warden on 2nd August where I expect to meet more old friends :flying:

[Garry Russell]

Cheers for that Peter

Must be great to meet up with them and swap stories

Garry

[airboatr]

Peter

you have a guy in the squad whos name was Myself?
;-)

Good SHow
thanks for sharing

[forthbridge]

..This in turn has led to further contacts and I'm booked to attend a Hunter pilot's reunion at Old Warden on 2nd August where I expect to meet more old friends :flying:

:flying: :flying:
Excellent Peter, I hope you all have a great time - remember to hold formation on the way to the bar

On a serious note, this sort of thing really does put a smile on my face. There's a book by WD Pereira ("Boat in the blue") about an RAF ASR boat, and after the war ends, the crew are demobbed, and the author and Skipper part at Kings Cross. The very last words in the book are 'None of us saw one another again' which always makes me fill up

So, :drinkers: for your reunion Peter, enjoy it!!

[petermcleland]

On the subject of where the photo was taken...I now have it on good authority from Instrument Mech. David Street, who is in the photograph, that the photo was taken at Thornhill. There is no doubt about it as David Street has never been to the airbase at Salisbury.

Thank you David, for your emails and info...good luck with your flying in your Cherokee 140 and the Pietenpol Aircamper and thank you for looking at my PowerPoint presentation.

BTW...Sadly, David also informed me that Boss Ramirez died a couple of months ago