I love how proud he is of his experience flying solo! He was a pilot who flew both Spitfires and Hurricanes, although he doesn't talk about those experiences yet in this interview. (I think you have to register on the original site that did the interview to see the rest of it.) The snippet is only about 8 minutes long; to be honest I could sit and listen to this man for hours and hours. It's pretty fascinating stuff.
For those who would like to see more of this wonderful man (and other war veterans), the website that put up the video is here. (http://legasee.org.uk/)
As you say, Sopwith, lovely. He mentions Sywell, where I went to an airshow last year, and where the "Biggles biplane" is based.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff.
ReplyDeleteWhen you think about it, it really is a truly extraordinary feat, to be in control of an AEROPLANE - all on your own - after just eight hours - it took me longer than that to master my new washing-machine....
Put that way, JJ, it is impressive!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had time to go to the original site, but I really want to hear him talk about Spitfires and Hurricanes.
Also, he talks about sending his clothes back to his mother to be washed? What? Do they send clothes back and forth every week?
Have just played the clip again - think maybe it was his civilian clothes he was going to send back home after he had been issued with a uniform - but could be wrong - didn't pilots have to purchase their own uniforms back then - or did that change before the 1940's? And if they did buy their own who DID do all that washing?
ReplyDeleteMaybe there were an awful lot of dirty socks traveling through the post in those days....
Officers would have purchased their own uniforms and would have had batmen to do washing etc. It was probably his civvies he was going to send back.In Biggles Fails to Return Ginger mentions he's got to see his tailor about a new uniform, although that could have been an excuse to extend his leave and see as much of Jeanette as possible.
ReplyDeleteI think pilots had to buy their own uniforms (or at least they did in WWI, like when Thirty steals his older brother's uniforms out of his closet), but it confuses me why they would send their civvies back home when they could just as easily dump them (would one wear new clothes to go to war?) or keep them for wearing when on leave.
ReplyDeleteOfficers had to buy their uniforms but sergeant-pilots did not as they were not commissioned. As for civvy clothes well, all servicemen had to wear uniform when travelling at all times, on duty or on leave. I don't know but I imagine that keeping civvies or sending them home was a matter of choice.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, dumping any clothing in wartime would have been a no-no as rationing was on and nothing was wasted.To throw away anything was considered highly unpatriotic. Maybe they sent clothes home so they could be worn by brothers?
ReplyDeleteIt just strikes me that as it was wartime most people would hardly have new clothes to wear to go to war in, so sending them back would hardly make sense, especially as the state of the post must have been pretty bad then, lots of letters and things messed up or not delivered and so on.
ReplyDeleteIf they bought their own uniforms wouldn't it make more sense just to wear the uniforms to go to war in and not send clothes home to mother?
Clothes were made to last in those days (they didn't go in for fast fashion back then)It was probably a highly expensive tailor made- suit, built to last and costing a small fortune. His shoes/boots may even have been made-to-measure too.Good clothes were often looked upon as an investment - not something to throw away on a whim!(Whatever would his mother have said?!)
ReplyDeleteA great-uncle of mine once invested in a pair of hand-made leather boots and he was still wearing the same pair 50 years later!
I think the chap in the clip was on his way to sign up - he wouldn't have been allowed to wear a uniform until he had done so - also no-one knew how long the war was going to last. Maybe he was hoping he'd need his civvies again in a few months time.
Ah--I see. Put in context a lot of things make a lot more sense.
ReplyDelete