RAFA YORK NEWS

IAN SMITH

Ian Smith died in hospital on 12 January after a short illness, aged 81. Ian and his late wife Maureen, took over the role of Wings Appeal collectors for York Branch around a decade ago and soon transformed the operation into a very successful part of our Branch activities. In both 2023 and 2024, Ian oversaw the collection of over £20,000 for the Wings Appeal, a remarkable achievement for him and his dedicated team. Ian was a stalwart supporter of York Branch (despite a career in the Army rather than the RAF!) and attended Branch and Club events almost without missing anything. A regular at our Saturday Club meetings, He maintained excellent contacts with the local authority, supermarket managers and others whose assistance was required to enable him to set up the Wings stall. He will be missed greatly.

BILL GAMBOLD

A memorial gathering for the late Bill Gambold, who died whilst on a Mediterranean holiday on 25 November 2024, was held at York Racecourse on Saturday 4 January. Those present included several members from RAFA York Branch, as Bill was held in high esteem by our Branch. He was Branch President from 2001 to 2011 and then President Emeritus of the Branch, a role he held for over a decade until his death, which came as a shock to us all.

Bill was born in 1938 and, whilst living with his parents in Swansea, witnessed the effects of air power when the town was attacked by the Luftwaffe, in an attempt to knock out the harbour facilities. Bill remembers the Anderson shelter in their garden and the occasion when the family could not use it due to both their house and the shelter being damaged by enemy bombing. Fortunately, a neighbour was able to provide some shelter for them.

This was Bill’s first experience of air power, and it was not a pleasant one. However, it may have kindled a lifelong interest in aviation. He joined the local Air Cadets squadron (No 215 Swansea) and enjoyed air experience flights as well as achieving solo flights in gliders. Bill achieved the rank of Cadet Sergeant before leaving to join the RAF. He applied to join as a direct entrant and travelled to RAF Hornchurch to the Aircrew Selection Centre. However, this was just prior to the 1957 Defence Review, and the Sandys Review was to reduce the size of the RAF and to disband all the RAuxAF flying squadrons, which meant a surfeit of pilots.

Undaunted, Bill ticked every aircrew trade box on the application form and was accepted as an Air Signaller aged 17. He had hoped to be able to apply again for a commission as a pilot in 12 months, but, for various reasons, it was 3 years before he offered a commission and pilot training. So began an eventful career, flying some aircraft that seemed determined to kill him.

Aged 20, Bill was posted to RAF South Cerney for officer training and then to RAF Tern Hill for initial flying training, on the Piston Provost and, then at RAF Oakington on the jet Vampire. After completion of his course, Bill must have been good at this flying malarky as he was “creamed off” to attend the Qualified Instructors’ Course at CFS Little Rissington. By now, the RAF was gearing up its V Force of jet bombers and pilots were in demand again. Bill was posted to RAF Leeming in 1962, to train student pilots on the Jet Provost. In February 1963, Bill took off from Leeming with a student to practice EFATO, but the engine decided to fail anyway. They were too low to eject safely but there was nowhere safe to land, so they had to eject over a wooded area. Bill’s chute didn’t deploy properly, and he hit a tree. He received several broken bones, but the student was struck by debris and was killed.

Bill was badly injured and was transferred to the military hospital at Nocton Hall and then for rehabilitation at Headley Court. He managed to regain his flying category and returned to flying duties at RAF Leeming in September 1963. After 2 weeks refresher flying, Bill was let loose with another student and, just a couple of weeks later, the aircraft’s engine blew up on take-off. Bill ejected the aircraft’s canopy and managed to land back on the runway. The student, an Iraqi, could not release his leg restraints so Bill leant over to release them, not before the student sat on him. Sixty years later, Bill and the student when back to RAF Leeming to revisit the scene of the incident, which must have been quite an experience for both of them.

After the accident Bill walked with a limp and a bent back, but this didn’t prevent him joining 2 friends who were taking part in the RAF Team’s Cresta Run in St Moritz in December 1963.

The rest of Bill’s tour at Leeming went well, although accidents tend to happen in threes. During an air test in a Jet Provost, the small fuel tank for inverted flying had to be tested. It worked, but for only 10 seconds, then the engine flamed out, so Bill had to roll right way up and relight it before landing after carrying out a standard flameout recovery pattern. By this time, half the Station personnel came out as they were expecting a third accident.

In 1965, Bill was selected to fly the RAF’s Lightning interceptor, an aircraft with phenomenal power but not much fuel economy. Bill recalls that his first solo flight in this beast of an aircraft sent a shiver down his spine. After completing his Lightning training, Bill was posted to RAF Binbrook to No 5 Squadron, which was just about to be equipped with Lightnings.

March 1967, Bill was posted to RAF Coltishall to instruct pilots on the Lightning Conversion Unit for 2 years. Some of the students were from the Royal Saudi Air Force which had also been equipped with the Lightning.

In October 1969, Bill (who by now was married to Jennifer) was posted to Canada on an exchange posting. He flew the CF101 Voodoo interceptor. This aircraft was also in service with the US Air force as well as the Canadian Air Force and it had a reputation for pitching up close to the stalling speed of the aircraft. After his conversion course on the Voodoo, Bill and his family moved to CFB Chatham in New Brunswick. This is where the 3^rd accident happened. During a night exercise, there were problems with both the aircraft and the ground radars and Bill’s Voodoo came out of cloud and found itself right behind a USAF B57 bomber (identical to a UK Canberra). Despite swerving to avoid the B57, Bill’s right wing hit the bomber’s left wing. Luckily, both aircraft remained airworthy enough to land safely but Bill’s Voodoo had to land at 200 knots, as anything less would cause the aircraft to lose control. The subsequent Board of Inquiry cleared Bill of blame, but the General in charge of the Canadian Air Defence System disagreed. Eventually the RAF Inspectorate of Flight Safety accepted the Board’s findings anyway!

Four years later, Bill returned to the UK and to RAF Coltishall as the Squadron Leader Operations. At that time, his post also included running the Historic Aircraft Flight (now known as BBMF) which had 4 Spitfires and 2 Hurricanes. Bill was fortunate to be able to fly both types.

In 1974, Bill was posted to RAF Leuchars in Scotland as the flying instructor to No 111 Sqn on the F4 Phantom. Having never undertaken any ground attack training in the Hunter before flying the Lightning, Bill found the refresher flying on the Hunter prior to the Phantom very difficult and events conspired against him such that a Gp Capt who had never met him recommended that Bill be grounded. Several years later, when he was a Gp Capt, Bill met the officer, who was still a Gp Capt. They didn’t speak!

Whilst waiting for the RAF to work out what to do with him, Bill was posted to RAF High Wycombe to organise a VIP Anniversary Dinner for the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Guests included Prince Philip and several European Royals as well as very senior RAF personnel. The next day, an impressed Commander in Chief, ACM Smallwood, told Bill that he should stay in the RAF and transfer to another Branch. This led to Bill transferring to the Fighter Control Branch in 1976, thus beginning a second RAF career of sorts.

Bill’s first job in his new Branch was to RAF Neatishead as Sqn Ldr Ops. He was selected for the one-year staff course at the RAF Staff College, after which he was promoted to Wg Cdr and began a tour in Germany as a Sector Controller. This was normally a 3-year tour but, after less than 2, Bill was posted to Mons, to the SHAPE HQ. His role was to manage the development of the replacement of the NATO air defence system by a new system (ACCS).

Bill and family were enjoying their time in Belgium when, in 1984, he was detached to the Falkland Islands as the Controller of the Falklands Air Defence Radar System. Bill’s family moved into quarters at RAF Cranwell to await his return in December 1984. Upon his return, Bill was placed on the Air Warfare Course at Cranwell, a 6-month course for officers with top level security. On completion, Bill was promoted to Gp Capt and moved to RAF Buchan in N E Scotland as the Stn Cdr and Sector Commander in September 1985.

After two years in NE Scotland, Bill had a change of scenery, being posted to MOD as the Deputy Director Ground Environment & AEW. The family moved into quarters at Bushey Heath.The MOD Main Building was in a poor state internally at that time, but Bill enjoyed the fascination of the job as long as he ignored the tatty surroundings.

Things hotted up in early 1991 when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the MOD went to full 24-hour manning. Three Gp Capts were appointed to control the Air Force Ops Room 24-7 and Bill was one of them. Bill was tasked to write the RAF Lessons Learned document from the conflict and was promoted to Air Cdre and posted to HQSTC as Air Cdre Air Defence. Bill’s final posting before retirement in 1993 was Air Officer Plans at HQSTC.

Bill’s “third career” was in North Yorkshire, when he applied for, and obtained, the role of Air Cadets Northeast Regional Commandant, based at RAF Linton on Ouse. At that time, the Region had around 8000 cadets and 130 squadrons. Bill took over his duties in October 1993 and retired from the role in November 2003, on his 65^th birthday. Bill related that the cadets were the most self-motivated and self-disciplined people that he had ever known.

Bill was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant to the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire (Lord Crathorne) in 2001, a role which included meeting members of the Royal Family and representing them on some occasions. Bill undertook DL duties until 2013. He was also Chairman of New Earswick Parish Council from 2007 until 2015, when he and Jennifer moved from New Earswick to York City centre.

Bill was a life member of the RAF Association having joined over 30 years ago. He was President Emeritus of the York Branch of the association from 2011 and he and Jennifer were regular attendees at RAFA events, not least at the Turning of the Page ceremonies at the Astral Clock in York Minster.

I won’t even attempt to sum up Bill’s amazing career in the RAF or afterwards. Everyone will have their own memories. Suffice to say that, for me, his recounting of his fascinating aviation experiences will be forever in my mind.

RAF ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE - 19-20 OCTOBER 2024

The Annual Conference took place at the Wyboston Lakes Centre over the weekend of 19-20 October. Our Branch Delegate, Ron Ford, attended as did the Branch Chairman Andy Bryne. This year's conference was particularly significant as the resolutions included voting on whether to adopt the long-discussed "One Member One Vote concept. Conference business commenced with the adoption of the Association Conference Committee report (99% in favour) followed by a comprehensive financial report for 2023, given by the Honorary Treasurer, Sally Munday. It was noted that 88% of every pound raised was spent on welfare. The RAFA Annual Report was given by the RAFA Chairman, AVM Reid. This was followed by discussions and voting on the 15 resolutions. All resolutions passed, opening the way to a one member one vote system and a removal of the requirement for an annual conference branch delegate. After voting, an update on the RAF was given by Air Mshl Paul Lloyd, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Engineer Branch).

At the end of 2023, RAFA had 273 branches (including RMGs). There were 227 Geographical branches, 4 virtual branches and 42 Regional Members’ Groups (RMGs). There were 46 Branch Clubs operating. By October 2024, there were 213 branches, 38 RMGs and 45 Clubs. Fifteen branches had closed so far in 2024.

One of the success stories for RAFA over the last year has been the increase in support for RAF families with pre-school children by the provision of nursery education facilities at 13 RAF units (RAFA Kidzone).

MILTON W ROBINSON

Notes about his service in the RAF during World War II

Milton Robinson was one of our oldest members. He died at the age of 103 on 11 June 2024. His funeral took place at Tockwith on 9 July. Some Branch members attended and Gordon Murden paraded the Branch Standard. The following (abridged) notes were made by an old friend, Steve Crossland over a period of time. He wrote, “ The notes were written following numerous conversations I’ve had with Milton during the 50 odd years that I’ve been privileged to know him. Everything he told me was from his amazing memory without any reference to notebooks or diaries'

ln 1939 Milton was working for Rowntrees at their Wigginton Road factory. War with Nazi Germany was looking increasingly certain and he volunteered to join the RAF. Milton was called up in February 1940. He was kitted out at RAF Padgate in Lancashire, then transferred to RAF West Kirby in Merseyside for 16-week initial training for RAF recruits. He was issued with a Lee Enfield Mark 1 rifle, of WW1 vintage, and 50 rounds of ammunition, with which to repel the German Army should they invade. From there he moved to RAF St. Athan in South Wales and joined No. 4 School of Technical Training, learning basic mechanics and working on Rolls Royce V12 Kestrel engines, Blackburn radial engines and AVRO Anson planes.

A further move followed to RAF Harwell near Wantage in Oxfordshire and No. 15 Operational Training Unit, where he worked up through AC 2 (Aircraftman 2), to AC 1 and finally qualified as a LAC (Leading Aircraftman). As well as training he remembers loading propaganda leaflets into Vickers Wellington bombers to be dropped over towns and villages in France. ln 1941 Milton was posted to North Africa. He sailed in convoy on the troopship "Strathmore" (which was a P&O liner requisitioned by the Admiralty from 1939/40 until 1945). This was a 6-week journey, the convoy having to zig-zag through the Atlantic to avoid U-8oats, then round the Cape of Good Hope and through the Red Sea to Asmara (Eritrea) where he disembarked. (The much shorter sea route past Gibraltar and through the Mediterranean was too dangerous to take at that stage of the war.) The convoy was delayed in Cape Town after the sister ship to the "Strathmore", the P&O liner "Strathnaver", collided with the cruiser "Devonshire" and suffered bow damage which had to be repaired. From Asmara the troops moved by road and rail to Khartoum in the Sudan, then northwards into Egypt. Milton was billeted for a while in a horticultural college and spent time in Almaza and Heliopolis, both suburbs of Cairo.

From Heliopolis it was west into the North African Desert where Milton was to spend the next four years "breathing sand", as he later described it. He was stationed at numerous airbases (most were just strips of levelled sand with tents providing accommodation and shelter), often nameless and identified only by a code number. Here he was servicing and repairing planes being staged through the desert to the war front after being crated and shipped to Takoradi on the Gold Coast in West Africa where they were reassembled. Milton worked on a whole variety of aircraft types including Supermarine Spitfires, Hawker Hurricanes, Curtiss Kittyhawks and Mohawks. One of the worst jobs he had was recovering the bodies of pilots whose planes had crashed. Worst still was recovering the crews of tanks that had been hit by artillery fire and "brewed up,'(caught fire). Any dust on the horizon had to be treated with caution as it could be Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps troops on the move. German spotter planes were active and could call up artillery fire on the airbases. Much feared and respected were the 88mm Flak guns used by the Germans (these were originally designed as anti-aircraft guns but were formidable anti-tank and long-range weapons, capable of destroying tanks at a range of a 2r/ mile and accurately firing shells at ground targets at a range of almost 10 miles). More than once Milton and his colleagues were detailed to guard Italian prisoners of war, armed only with trusted Lee Enfield rifles and a few rounds of ammunition. Fortunately the prisoners had no intention of escaping - not that there was anywhere to escape to. They just seemed happy to be out of the war.

Milton had to be flown to Egypt once with a dental problem that needed expert attention. The only available seat on the plane was in the rear gun turret. This turret was hydraulically operated by a set of controls. During the flight Milton, being an engineer, couldn't help but fiddle with the controls with the result that the turret turned through 90 degrees and jammed. There was no way back into the fuselage and no way to exit the turret in an emergency. More fiddling with the controls eventually persuaded the turret to return to its normal position. Like most combatants, Milton collected souvenirs from the battlefield. He sent home via the Church Parcel Service a very fine German Afrika Korps helmet which he still has. He also acquired a wristwatch and a German pistol, possibly a 9mm Luger. He remembers bringing the pistol home safely but cannot remember what happened to it afterwards. Possibly it was handed in during a subsequent firearms amnesty. Eventually the war in Europe ended and VE Day, 8th May 1945, was celebrated with camel racing, Milton leading his race until his camel's legs got tangled up in some tent guy-ropes.

For his service in the desert Milton received the Africa Star, awarded to those serving in North Africa between 10th June 1940 and 12th May 1943, with the North Africa 1942-43 Clasp, awarded for Air Force service in specified areas from 23rd October 1942 to 12th May 1943 and denoted by a silver rosette on the ribbon. With the war in Europe over, Milton travelled by train to Port Said where he boarded the troopship "Olympic" which sailed through the Mediterranean into the Atlantic and finally to Liverpool, arriving at 4am on a Saturday morning. The ship stood off Albert Dock at low water until 9am when a pilot was taken aboard. and it finally berthed. During the voyage, Milton lost his wristwatch souvenir. A fellow serviceman offered to clean it for him and that was the last Milton saw of the watch and the "gentleman" concerned. The troops were met with cups of tea served in sheds on the dockside. Afterwards it was a train journey to Morecambe for tropical kit to be exchanged for normal uniform.

From Morecambe, Milton travelled by train to York. He was shocked to see the devastation that had been caused in April 1942 by bombs landing in the station area, where the rail network had been targeted. South Parade, where his parents lived, had suffered badly when a bomb had hit the nearby Bar Convent and several nuns had been killed. The windows in his parents' house had been blown out and were boarded up. They had put decorations up to welcome him home, but Milton took them down. There were large shards of bomb casings scattered around, one of which Milton has kept.

The war with Japan was still being fought and, after 15 days leave, Milton was posted to RAF Driffield, next to what is now Normandy Barracks, and from there to RAF Bassingbourn, north of Royston in Cambridgeshire. There he worked on more aircraft and remembers a very delicate job repairing an engine in a Bristol Beaufighter in which a spark plug had stripped its threads. No-one else was keen to do the job. He was seconded to an Australian Squadron, because of his experience, who were bound for the Far East and the Pacific War. He appealed against this posting on the grounds that he had served his time in North Africa and that his parents badly needed him at home. He was finally excused from this draft. Sadly, several of those he had got to know in the squadron were lost in the Pacific Ocean when their ship was torpedoed by the .Japanese. From Bassingbourn he was posted to a Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Stoney Cross near Lyndhurst in the New Forest, where he worked on planes fetching back troops from the continent.

Milton was demobbed at RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire, in the huge hangars where the ill-fated R101 airship had been built in 1929. This brought back memories for Milton when as a boy he saw the rival airship R100, designed by Barnes Wallis and built in Howden, East Yorkshire, on a test flight in 1929 over York. It was an impressive sight as it flew over at low level. It also reminded Milton that the Senior Stress Engineer of the R100 design team, Neville Shute Norway, had later, in 1931, set up an aircraft production factory in the former trolleybus factory in Piccadilly, York, building Airspeed aeroplanes. On his way to and from school Milton would often look through the open doors at the aircraft being built. (As there was no airfield in York, the police allowed completed planes to be towed at night on the public roads to the airfield at Sherburn-in-Elmet where they could be properly ground tested and flown).

ln February 1946 Milton married Elsie, who he had met whilst on a training course at the carburettor manufacturer Claudel Hobson in Wolverhampton before he was posted abroad. On March 16th 1946 he rejoined Rowntrees to resume his interrupted career and worked for them until his retirement.