1940 - 1984        

Royal Air Force Aberporth

Recording the History  -  Recalling the Memories.

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RAF Aberporth Station Activities

   Parades were few at RAF Aberporth.  Usually the only parades were for visits by the AOC or  other VIP’s.

 

  Many of  the engineering  NCO’s , including yours truly,  were excused most parades due to work commitments at the RAE Site.

 


     Some of the photo’s from Stuart Baines are of  the AOC’s visit in 1974.


   

    Only one of the two Aircraft Hangers still  exist. The other being sold off a few years ago to someone in Ireland.



    The runway  was  extended in 2009, and the sergeants mess demolished in 2011. The old hanger will be replaced with a new one, along with a new airport Hotel.. One day.

RAF Aberporth Football Team Junior Cup meeting the AOC in 1974

RAF Aberporth may only have been a small station, but it had a thriving  Football team in the 1970’s.


   These photo’s  courtesy of  one time MSF Technician   Stuart Baines

RAF Aberporth Football Team Junior Cup Winners  1974

Names are listed below-left.

<Left:An Air Day at    R.A.F Aberporth in 1981, organised by 1429 (Cardigan and Aberporth) ATC Squadron.


These events popular in the 80’s had many flying Aircraft Display’s including the Red Arrows, and attracted thousands to each event.

 Among the static displays in this image is a Jindivik  which you can just see a glimpse of  in the  background right of the hanger.


More Air Day photo’s

 On  ATC Air Display Page


A photo of the five-a-side team after they won the inter - Dept final in 1973.  Image courtesy of Steve Niblock (Holding the cup)

The  following selection of MT  Photo’s are courtesy of John Smith, a member of the RAF Aberporth MT Section 1973 to 1975.

John at RAF Swinderby during training in 1969

Left to right-  Warrant Officer ?, Mr Jones, John Smith, Brendan Keane,  

The C.O. Wing Cmd D.T.Cann, John Adams, Cpl Clot? Sgt Bill Evans.

John at RAF Medmenham

The Airmens Mess Christmas Dinner 1973/74. Among the faces of RAF, RN & MOD staff are Squadron Leader Wright, John Pitchford, Dougie Folland, Harrison ? Budgie Linton, Wilf Pickles, Al Darnell, Stuart Baines, Kevin Davies,       Jonah Jones, Brooksy, Bob Hiles, Barry Parker and  MOD Civvies’ Graham Walker, and Roy Mullins.

Diane Thompson and Jonah Jones

A few party photo’s from the 70’s

Janice Thomas and Stu Baines

Helen Davies and

Pete Merryweather

Betty Davies and Stu Baines

Brooksy and Sue Davies

                                A few RAF and Royal Navy faces above-

Back Left: Harrison, Mr Davies, John Smith, ? , And Steve King hiding at the back.

Front Row: Brooksy, Jonah Jones, Ken Davies, and Pete Merryweather.

Click Images to Enlarge

        In 1969, HRH Prince Charles attended University at Aberystwyth.

     While there studying Welsh, he spent his week-ends at RAF Aberporth Flying.

    He was allocated his own room in the officers mess for the period.

   At week-ends a Chipmunk and VR Pilot were at his disposal, and he could often be seen flying around the area during the time he spent here.


     This photo’ shows him being presented with an inscribed tankard before his departure in July by the Station Commander, Wing Commander Kaye .   


        I wonder if he has still got it. Perhaps it will turn up on ebay or at an antiques fair one day!

   

     My own  “15 minutes of fame” whilst having the secondary duty of NCO I/C the Station Cinema, was to give HRH Prince Charles his own private showing of a one hour documentary about the Red Arrows one evening in 1969’.

    I suspect he would rather have watched “A fist Full of Dollars” I had showing that week-end.

Dads Army at RAF Aberporth 1974.  From the RAF News

Service personnel  always worked and played hard.


   RAF Aberporth  was no different.  Stories of the Sergeants Mess parties and dances in the 60’s and 70’s with the  Royal Navy  detachment also in attendance, are legend.  


    Watching seven senior NCO’s at their Christmas dance in 1967, led by Chief Tech Bunny Warren come waddling in line into the mess down on their knees with trouser legs pulled up and their shoes tied around said knees, also wearing silly Christmas hats, and singing “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s off to work we go………” was one of many  memorable events.


  

   AND,… being a inter-service mess, there was the Royal Navy Petty Officers  jape on one of the wives at the same Christmas dance, telling her a story of  “Nelsons Eye” !     


       Picture the scene…….  The blindfold seated lady, her pointed index finger at arms length,

  half of an unseen  VERY juicy  orange produced silently in front of her, a petty officer telling her to poke around for his NOSE, while feeeding her a line about Nelsons good eye, then screaming in agony as her finger enters the orange,  could give you every reason to wince at the outcome.


     When the blindfold was whipped away the orange was nowhere to be seen. Everyone in the was room falling about laughing, except the victim who thought she had blinded someone………


  Unforgettable.

                                                                                         

                                 Only the Navy could have come up with that one.


        (An employee in our shop, also recalls this type of joke from her husbands navy days.)


 

 

   



      And then there was the time when after a hard nights drinking in the Sergeants mess, a certain Chief Tech of my acquaintance from  Missile Servicing Flight,  arrived home in the early hours at his Married Quarter on Trenchard Estate.

 

   After banging on the locked front door for 10 minutes, and being told by his dearly beloved to get lost, the inebriated “Chief”  knew from past experience that he would have to sleep in his car parked  in the road.


    At about  7am the next morning, his wife dressed only in her night dress and slippers, in a mad panic ran from the house, pulled him from the car, and told him to get in the house NOW, before the milkman turned up on the scene, and spread the story far and wide.  

                                                                    Ah the good old days!


A Charity Bed Push 1974.

Faces include  Pete Brooks, Mac, Al Green, John Smith and a Mrs McGill in the bed

Junior Ranks Christmas Party 1974. Crash Ashley and Steve Niblock in the foreground

The RAF Aberporth Team that won the RAF Junior Cup in 1974 against RAF Boulmer.

Names courtesy of: Stuart Baines- Norfolk.

     @ April 2014

RAF Boulmer

(In Red Colours)R

 Cpl Brett

J/T Valley

SAC Grieve

SAC Walker

Cpl Duthie

Cpl Brennan (Capt)

SAC Cockroft

Sgt Dunsire

Cpl Allen

SAC Tracey

SAC Wilson

J/T Philips

Team Manager:

C/T Carter

Trainer:

Sgt Robertson




RAF Aberporth

(In Yellow Colours)

Cpl Hambling

SAC Mullings

J/T Baines

Sgt Spry

Cpl Keal

SAC Robinson (Capt)

SAC Jones

SAC Frazer

AB Evans

Cpl Hart

LCEN O’Keef

SAC Town

Team Manager:

C/T Wilkins

Trainer:

Cpl McGill

If you knew John Smith, his Home Page in Merthyr Tydfil is:

http://johnsmith.1colony.com/index.html

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