A friend pointed me...

[petermcleland]

...at these two pages of Flight magazine from long ago:-

RHODESIA'S GREAT AIR DISPLAY
Centenary Rally at Salisbury's New Airport.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/ ... 00808.html

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/ ... 00809.html


This shot of our box landing was also taken there.

[PeteP]

That second page contains the name, "F/L. P. Stowell" as one of the members of the 266 Squadron display team. I wonder if that could be the same "Pip" Stowell with whom I worked for many years at West Drayton?
Pete

[Nigel H-J]

Really enjoyable read Peter though found a mistake, they spelt your surname wrong!! :o

Regards
Nigel.

[TSR2]

Facinating read Peter, and a great find. I had no idea Flight had an online archive!

[petermcleland]

That second page contains the name, "F/L. P. Stowell" as one of the members of the 266 Squadron display team. I wonder if that could be the same "Pip" Stowell with whom I worked for many years at West Drayton?

I don't think so Pete...That was Pete Stowell who flew in the number 3 position in the aerobatic team and John Taylor flew number 2...John was later killed at Sylt on the very last sortie of his tour. He was a Flight Commander and his replacement arrived after John had taken off...So they never met.

Pete Stowell was nearly killed when he dropped in on the grass short of the threshold, wingtip first, at Wunstorf. The venom broke up a bit and burst into flames. We all thought Pete was a gonner! In his own words "I sort of came round and looked down and there was grass where the cockpit floor should have been...Ah! grass! I thought and I tried to move towards it...My harness wouldn't let me go, so I undid it...Then my parachute harness stopped me and I undid that...Then I got down and crawled out of a little tunnel lined with muddy grass and remember wondering what happened to the stick...It should have been in the way!...Then I got a bloody great kick up the arse in the form of a searing hot flame...That got me out F...ing quick!!"

The ambulance arrived and found him wandering about in a daze...He was back from hospital and flying again in about two weeks

[PeteP]

I don't think so Pete...That was Pete Stowell who flew in the number 3 position in the aerobatic team

Ah, thank you, Peter. I guess "Pip's" real name was Phillip Stowell so not the same chap.
Pete