The Night Mail

[Stubby47]

My nephew works at Valley on the civilian side, maintaining the Hawks - he'll be busy today.

 

If they touch down and take off again, there is nothing to do, but if they land they need a service check. There has been at least 6 up so far today.

[Happy Hippo]

I've just been informed it's Friday:  I thought it was Saturday!

 

Lucky I didn't make any rude comments about the RAF working weekends.

 

What is left of this morning will be spent tidying up the garage floor:  It's all packaging or the stuff that usually resides in the back of the cars.  All unloaded to make space to transport other junk.

 

Of course, it's now up to me to sort it and replace in the respective chariots.

[Compound2632]

57 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I've just been informed it's Friday:  I thought it was Saturday!

 

Lucky I didn't make any rude comments about the RAF working weekends.

 

Welcome to Friday. In fact, you're welcome to it.

 

My father was stationed at RAF Valley for his National Service. As a librarian in civilian life, he was given some clerical job. As he was of the last generation of National Servicemen, he asked the Commandant (or whatever rank was in charge), who would do the filing once there were no more conscripts to do it. He was told they'd probably stop doing it as it was never really worth doing anyway. So that was a wasted six months of his life (or however long it was), he concluded. Apologies if I've told this story before.

[bbishop]

A new hub arrived in the post and I have to install it.  I may be gone some time.  Bill

[TheQ]

National service was 18 months, but raised to 2 years during the Korean war.

Dad deliberately joined up as a regular in the RAF (1956), as that way you got better better pay and conditions.

You also choose your service and to a certain extent your trade.

His younger Brother (Born just post war), escaped as National service had finished by the time he was old enough.

Edited September 25, 2020 by TheQ

[J. S. Bach]

13 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Evening, ...snip... Below is what I think may be a model do one of the Union Castle Line three stackers ...snip...

Douglas

Well, it is obviously not the Titanic, it is missing a pipe. Or the kit-builder forgot something!.

Edited September 25, 2020 by J. S. Bach

[petethemole]

I can't find evidence of a three-stacker that looked like that.  I suspect it was a freelance model.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

25 minutes ago, petethemole said:

I can't find evidence of a three-stacker that looked like that.  I suspect it was a freelance model.

That seems unusual, it was mostly their smaller ships for pond sailing that were freelance. But then again could be a commision.

[Happy Hippo]

It has been so cold here today that the heater has been switched on in the office.

 

I presume that's burning dust I can smell?

 

This afternoon's exploits included a bit of hedge trimming and an all out assault on the ivy to stop it strangling the bushes in the front garden.

 

The battery powered multi tool with a cutting blade certainly came in handy for some of the thicker stems. 

 

Apple processing has continued and applEy smells have been wafted from the kitchen.  This time it's apple jelly with Cassis liqueur.  Experiments continue with thicker slices of apple in the dehumidifier/dryer.  Another batch of apple juice is being readied for straining.  This should create apple and blackcurrant jelly, which has been requested by the PH.

[Northroader]

Re national service, if you went into the Navy, you had to sign on for longer than two years, so it was either the army or the  RAF. Then if you were doing an apprenticeship or college course, you were given exemption until you’d finished it. Luckily they did away with national service the same year as my course ended.

A mate of mine chose the RAF, and went to Gaydon, in Warwickshire, a V bomber base. We went along to support him on Battle of Britain day, most impressive until they came to a scramble take off with the two minute? warning. These big Vulcans came trundling along the taxiway, but unfortunately the second one overshot the corner on to the runway and bogged down the nosewheel in soft ground. I’m afraid to say we rather took the p*** out of my friend.

[pH]

All the grapes have now been picked.  Very low yield this year (about 16 pounds), where we’ve had over 40 pounds in the past. However, the quality is as good as always. The best have been kept for eating, and the rest boiled up and the juice extracted - delicious and nutritious as the adverts say. Or, as my wife says, cures everything except ham.

[J. S. Bach]

16 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 ...snip... Below is what I think may be a model do one of the Union Castle Line three stackers ...snip...

Douglas

Another comment on said ship: the "balance" seems to be off, I can not fathom a boiler uptake coming up through what looks like the middle of the bridge! Not to mention that it looks somewhat larger than the other two. All three uptakes should be aft by almost the distance between two of them. Note that I am NOT a marine engineer/designer but visually that ship just looks so wrong!

 

Edit: I looked at some three-funnelled steamers on-line and all seem to have their uptakes further aft.

Edited September 25, 2020 by J. S. Bach
To add some information.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

9 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Another comment on said ship: the "balance" seems to be off, I can not fathom a boiler uptake coming up through what looks like the middle of the bridge! Not to mention that it looks somewhat larger than the other two. All three uptakes should be aft by almost the distance between two of them. Note that I am NOT a marine engineer/designer but visually that ship just looks so wrong!

I agree with you, having a funnel that far forward is a bad idea and waste of space. Tis also very bad for balance to have a boiler room (and coal bunkers) that close to the bow. Of course it is entirely possible that the boiler room was further astern, but this would require masses of ducting through one of the busiest areas of a ship, hence why I said waste of space. As for it looking a bit bigger, thats my phone camera distorting it, it does the same thing to the coupling rods on my GtV, they're much longer IRL.

Edited September 25, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[J. S. Bach]

11 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

I agree with you, having a funnel that far forward is a bad idea and waste of space. Tis also very bad for balance to have a boiler room (and coal bunkers) that close to the bow. Of course it is entirely possible that the boiler room was further astern, but this would require masses of ducting through one of the busiest areas of a ship, hence why I said waste of space. As for it looking a bit bigger, thats my phone camera distorting it, it does the same thing to the coupling rods on my GtV, they're much longer IRL.

Two things:

One, I wonder if the ship is really a two-stacker and the builder just put one there anyway.

Two, I do not think that it is your phone, nothing else forward appears to be distorted. look at the windows under the bridge, they appear to be the same size as the ones aft on the promenade deck. Anyway, it is an interesting ship that has given us something to mull over, maybe somewhere/sometime more information will turn up. Thank you for posting the original.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

42 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Two things:

One, I wonder if the ship is really a two-stacker and the builder just put one there anyway.

Two, I do not think that it is your phone, nothing else forward appears to be distorted. look at the windows under the bridge, they appear to be the same size as the ones aft on the promenade deck. Anyway, it is an interesting ship that has given us something to mull over, maybe somewhere/sometime more information will turn up. Thank you for posting the original.

It is quite possible that it’s a fake funnel, as I believe both the Olympic and Mauritania Classes of 4 stackers had a fake aft or forward funnel. But on the Mauri’s I believe it was used as ventilation and to provide a draft for the kitchen stoves. With regards to my phone, we won’t know if it distorted it until I get home and can look at the book. I’m trying to think of anybody on this forum who would know about such a ship, I may make a post in “Anyone Interested in Ships.” But Anchor Line comes to mind as a possibility.

[pH]

44 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

I wonder if the ship is really a two-stacker and the builder just put one there anyway.

Happened in the prototype world, too:

 

https://www.dalmadan.com/?p=4352

 

Aft funnel was a dummy. Note that there’s no smoke from it in any of the pictures in that link.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

This one is a fair possibility, but it’s rather blurry and at a funny angle. But the forward funnel does still look to far astern. Anchor Line as stated above.

[Compound2632]

BTW the display has to be 1923 not 1921 - Great Northern pacific!

Re. National Service, my father was born in June 1939, the cut-off DoB for National Service was October 1939. He formed one life-long friendship with a Yorkshireman five years his senior, who had run out of architecture qualifications to pursue just three months too soon.

 

[Steamport Southport]

17 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Wasn't the MiG Cessna kit released after the Hughie Green incident while flying to Berlin?

 

One of those celebrities that my nan used to say "he's a bit dodgy" for various reasons.

 

Turns out she was right about most of them. 

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

BTW the display has to be 1923 not 1921 - Great Northern pacific!

Re. National Service, my father was born in June 1939, the cut-off DoB for National Service was October 1939. He formed one life-long friendship with a Yorkshireman five years his senior, who had run out of architecture qualifications to pursue just three months too soon.

 

I spent 8 years restoring a horse tram with a guy who might fit that description. Jim Soper. He did eventually work as an architect after his National Service in the RAF. As he had learned to paint cars in his father's  garage he spent his time painting aircraft.

 

Jamie

Edited September 26, 2020 by jamie92208

[Oldddudders]

8 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

BTW the display has to be 1923 not 1921 - Great Northern pacific!

Re. National Service, my father was born in June 1939, the cut-off DoB for National Service was October 1939. He formed one life-long friendship with a Yorkshireman five years his senior, who had run out of architecture qualifications to pursue just three months too soon.

 

My father was born in August 1909, and in September 1939 he volunteered for the RN, lying about his age as he was a little older than the men they were then seeking. Demobbed in April 1945, with no worse injury than deafness in one ear from being near some big guns, but quite fit enough to marry Mum!

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

My father was born in August 1909, and in September 1939 he volunteered for the RN, lying about his age as he was a little older than the men they were then seeking. Demobbed in April 1945, with no worse injury than deafness in one ear from being near some big guns, but quite fit enough to marry Mum!

 

There was a very big difference between volunteering in 1939 - which my grandfather did, despite being over-age, for the merchant navy (pacifist tendencies, I suspect) - and being conscripted in 1960 for a completely pointless exercise.

[Happy Hippo]

40 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

There was a very big difference between volunteering in 1939 - which my grandfather did, despite being over-age, for the merchant navy (pacifist tendencies, I suspect) - and being conscripted in 1960 for a completely pointless exercise.

Without wishing to sound catty, although I have been a member of the RBL for many years, I steer clear of the local branches because I got fed up with endless stories (non interesting) from ex National Servicemen.  As a friend of mine once said: 'It was enough to start my glass eye snoring.'

[Dave Hunt]

Although national service was long gone by the time I joined the RAF I worked with some older guys who had been in when it was still going. The consensus of opinion was that for the vast majority it was a truly pointless exercise and far from benefiting the RAF it simply distracted a lot of senior NCOs in particular from doing something more worth while as well as doing little or nothing for the conscripts except taking away part of their lives that would otherwise have been better spent. There were, of course, exceptions such as some who started as national service conscripts but then signed on for extensions so that they could qualify for aircrew training, one of whom was my Squadron Commander on my first Phantom Squadron who went on to become an Air Chief Marshal in charge of Strike Command and a knight of the realm. Not bad for someone who left school at fifteen.

 

Dave

 

PS.  I have to say that I agree with HH about the RBL but also about other organisations such as RAFA or the Aircrew Association. The few 'old boys' clubs which I attend are those of particular squadrons or aircrew roles where everyone has a fairly specific commonality so the conversation tends to be interesting (as long as everyone is still standing that is).   

Edited September 26, 2020 by Dave Hunt

[petethemole]

Not ex-services myself, apart from two years in school CCF, but we had an excellent response from the RAF when Father-in-law passed away.  He had been a Merlin fitter in 111 Squadron in WW2 and was commissioned and stayed on until about 1960.  Through the RAF Benevolent Fund we contacted 111 Squadron, who sent a young Tornado pilot to represent them at the funeral.  Subsequently SWMBO was able to arrange for his ashes to be scattered from the BBMF Lancaster over rural Warwickshire, after a display flight somewhere. We were sent the location so most of the family were there to witness the drop.