ISSUE 5 – SEPTEMBER 2016

SUPPORT THE RAF POLICE MEMORIAL FUND

The views expressed in The Wanderer are those of the Editor and individual contributors and do not necessarily represent Branch or RAFPA policy The Wanderer September 2016

Branch Demographics Chairman’s Rant Australia (3 members)

Bulgaria (1 member) Doesn't time fly? The St.Michael's Branch of the RAFPA Canada (4 members) started over a year ago and it is almost two and a half Canary Islands (1 member) years ago that a small niggle in the back of my mind that Cyprus (7 members) overseas members were getting a raw deal from the UK France (2 members) land based hierarchy started to aggravate. Germany (3 members) I had to do a re-write of my original ‘rant’ as it was written Gibraltar (2 members) before the announcement that I had been made the co- Greece (1 member) recipient of the Alan Rusling Memorial Award. Guernsey C.I. (1 member) Ireland (Eire) (1 member) Now to say I was surprised is an understatement, when it Jersey C.I. (1 member) was announced I thought "Who me, they must have got it Netherlands (1 member) wrong". New Zealand (3 members) Philippines (1 member) The truth is the award belongs to all those who believed in Portugal (2 members) and supported the proposal of an overseas branch, Singapore (1 member) particularly Neil who has worked so hard to ensure that my South Africa (3 members) ideas were carried through to fruition. Without everyone's Spain ( 3 members) support it would have been very difficult to achieve. Thank Switzerland (1 member) you again.

U.A.E (1 member) My flight is booked for the ECM in October to ensure that U.S.A (4 members) St.Mike’s has a voice. Let Neil or me know if there is (47 members in total) anything that you wish me to bring to the attention of the

Branch Who’s Who Council.

Chairman : Regards John

John Armfield PRINTING THE WANDERER [email protected] Vice-Chairman & Wanderer: The Wanderer template has now been re-formatted to allow for it to be printed as a more reader friendly A5 booklet. So if you are Editor - John Reid one that prefers to read a hard copy do the following: [email protected] 1. Feed your printer with A4 paper. Secretary & Website: 2. Open the document using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Neil Rusling 3. “Click” on Print. [email protected] 4. “Click” on the Booklet button (located below Page Size & Handling). Branch Website: 5. Ensue that “Booklet Subset” is set to “Both Sides”. http://st- mike.com 6. “Click” on the Print button (the booklet will then print on the Branch Facebook Group: front side of the paper). 7. Reverse the printed pages and then print on the reverse of https://www.facebook.com/grou the paper. ps/1472743989683244/ 8. A simple fold and you have your booklet ready to read.

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A NUTTER ON BOARD BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT BA28

During the period 1994-97 I was extremely fortunate enough as a Sgt to be operating in Hong Kong as part of a 4 man RAF Police Team amalgamated within the first ever Joint Intelligence & Security Unit, known as JISU, but sadly Army led !

In 1995 I was selected to attend a Counter Sabotage specialist-training course in the UK for one month along with a colleague from the Royal Hong Kong Police. As the course approached I bid farewell to my wife and set off on my 13 hour trip via a British Airways 747 to Heathrow. A few hours into the flight and at 38000 feet I was dozing in an aisle seat when I heard a commotion on the opposite aisle and looked across to witness a tall man shouting and running down the aisle and he began to drop kick at the exit doors quite violently as the stewardess tried to calm him he lashed out at her and began to run across the galley and into my aisle running up towards me. There was a lot of commotion going on. Before he got to me a male steward tried to grab him but the male punched out at him and the steward fell to the floor.

I thought something needs to be done about this idiot ! Just before he passed me running up the aisle I stood up quickly and with a straight arm caught him right across the throat and took him down onto the floor whereupon I fell on top of him and struggled to restrain him. Thankfully the male steward had recovered his composure and came to my aid and we subdued him and removed him to the rear of the aircraft. We used plastic cuffs to restrain him further and the staff gave him a drink of coke, which if I remember correctly had a sedative in it to calm him down. He kept saying his name was Genghis Khan and was clearly not of sound mind.

I was summoned to the flight deck to talk with the captain, who thanked me for my intervention and asked for advice on what to do. I explained that we had the man under control now and had another member of the military with me and we would guard him until we reached our destination. The captain advised that he was considering diverting the aircraft to Tehran to disembark the passenger, but after me explaining he was under guard decided against this decision. Other than the occasional outburst the man gave no more trouble during the flight.

At Heathrow I was asked to remain on board after the other passengers had left to meet with the police and to hand over the man concerned, which I did. The captain and stewards again thanked me for my intervention, which had I had not done so, could have proved a much more serious incident. After I handed the man over to the Police I continued my journey with 2 bottles of champagne which the 2 stewardess’s had given me as a thank you. It was also a nice feeling to be thanked by so many passengers as they were leaving the plane. When I spoke with my wife on the phone later that day I told her about my cabaret on the plane, laughing it off, she in turn just happened to mention it to my IC Section in passing when she saw him – little did I know what was happening behind the scenes from that moment on ! I later learned that the man, called Brian ? from Ricksm anworth, was well known to the police and had several pages on the PNC including markers for violence and a mental disorder – phew, I am glad I never knew that before I tackled him ! (continued on next page)

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Anyway I attended the course with my colleague and we had a great time together and learned many things about sabotage including a 3 day instruction by the SAS at Hereford on how to prepare and detonate various explosive devices – we loved this part ! All too soon the course was over and I returned to Hong Kong. At the end of that year I was called into the OC’s office and was told that because of my actions on Flight BA28 I was being awarded the General’s Personal Commendation – what a shock, but equally a pleasant surprise. Gladys, John Jnr (my son) and myself attended a ceremony in HQBF HK where the General met us and a statement was read out outlining the incident and he handed over his framed commendation and offered his congratulations. The ceremony was also recorded in the RAF News. A point of interest is that a Sun Newspaper journalist had got wind of the incident according to the Military PR people and was going to publish that I was operating undercover monitoring military drug smuggling activities– it never went to print ! The things we do when we are young eh !

John Reid Vice Chairman

“The Abu”

There is a very old pub in central Manchester called the Sir Ralph Abercrombie (“The Abu”) which is but a “ spit & a stride” from Bootle Street police station, a right keg of "blue bottles".

I had a very good friend, PC 98 Allan Widdowson, who had been stationed there all of his career, very much a “City” copper; he was also an ex-Grenadier and a true gent. After years of mythering from his bosses he eventually took an advanced driving course and passed with flying colours; very good for a guy who had never owned a car as he was constantly financially embarrassed! I had a clapped out Austin A 35 Countryman which, during my embarkation leave prior to going to Bruggen (early 70’s), I donated to him as it was my intention to buy a new car once in Germany; he was ever so proud of his FIRST car. After the late shift at Bootle Street we would meet up in the Abu and a few days after he had inherited the car we did just that; all his shift mates were present and busy refreshing themselves after a hard shift! Closing time came and went (as usual), we would then proceed to the "Queens night club" in the gay village, you know how it went, knock, knock, window opens "oh it's Lilly law, again!", door opens as usual. All the big wigs were there, judges business men etc.

Allan was proudly going to drive us to the Queens but informed us that he had lost one gear in the Austin but it wasn't important as he had learned to "plan" before parking! It was the reserve gear that had fallen out somewhere. The car was in the synagogue car park next to the Abu so 5 big off duty policeman in poorly disguised uniform covered by civvy coats and I squeezed into my ex-car which now had no reverse gear! Allan proceeded to leave the small packed car park in the dark, then a almighty bang occurred; we tried to get out but couldn’t. Allan had hit the wall of the police station! Seconds later the on duty staff ran outside to witness 4 colleagues and me trying to exit the vehicle

without much success. After winding down the window (only one worked) a voice was heard from out of the darkness “it's only Allan” and all returned back into the station. We made it as far as the "Queens" in Chorlton Street and after crawling out of the Austin discovered that one tail light assembly and half the bumper had been left on the car park!

Anyone visiting the scene today will see that the 3 bricks from the wall are still missing all these years on! Sadly Allan is no longer with us. RIP my friend. Phill Geraghty (Holland)

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Secretary’s Mutterings

Well it is that time again, at least August is out of the way with and I can look forward to feeling warm again!

It is never good news when you learn that a member has passed away and the loss of Peter Taylor (Paphos, Cyprus) is deeply regretted. Unfortunately we did not learn about Peter until 7 weeks after his passing so were unable to be represented at his funeral.

On a brighter side, we welcome James Bishop (Alberta), Nick Burton (Cape Town), Graeme Howes (Philippines), Tony McNamara (Ireland) and Jim Nixon (Brisbane) to the Branch. We have said goodbye to serving member F.Sgt Kev Roberts (Gib) who was posted back to U.K. in July; numbers on Gibraltar have not gone down though as Sqn.Ldr Chris Potter has assumed command of the Gibraltar Joint Service Police Unit.

I was slightly disheartened, when on reading the last edition of Provost Parade, to find out that four serving members had visited Cape Town towards the end of last year; the Association of course knew nothing about it but I am in no way criticising the NCO’s concerned. I live 5 minutes from the venue of the concert that they attended and our other 2 CT members about 15 minutes away. If you have not seen the article it is reproduced on Page 6 (naturally with the permission of the P.P. Editor). I have submitted a short article to the P.P. Editor about St.Mike’s which makes mention of this visit and highlighting that we have members in over 20 countries and the very least we would have done was a “meet & greet”. In the PP article mention is made of meeting a lady who was married to an ex-RAF Policeman for 55 years; this would undoubtedly have been Mrs Cynthia Winter, widow of the late Sqn Ldr Tommy Winter, resident of Somerset West (Western Cape).

John has already said that he will be at the October ECM, unfortunately I doubt that I will get there as my Resident Visa runs out two days before the meeting and there is no guarantee that the new one will be through in time. We are hoping that the outcome of the meeting will be positive and that RAFPA will be once again be moving in a positive direction.

Last, but most certainly not least, many congratulations to John Armfield on being Adjudged as the co-recipient of the Alan Rusling Memorial Award for 2016 . If you haven’t seen the citation on the website it is reproduced on page 11.

Time to go once more so regards and go well - Sala kahle (Swazi/Venda) only 1 more official language to go.

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The Wanderer September 2016

A Long Time Ago In Poachers Land

This story takes place on an ancient airfield where Pontius was a QFI and Biggles was a flight cadet. The unit was about to enter the realms of an operational organisation and the leaders of the unit decided that they must show that they were capable of performing in the manner required. With this in mind an exercise was organised with the fourteen aircraft available.

The aircraft were lined up herringbone fashion, seven either side at the end of the runway. Behind each of them were two tents, one for the aircrew the other for ground crew.

A RAF Police dog handler was detailed to patrol the area.

The scene is set. The next thing to happen is that the Group Captain is to fire a green flare from ATC to start the proceedings. The flare went up, engines started, people running everywhere. Now with all this activity the dog handler retired to a safe place behind the first tent to watch these magnificent men in their flying machines.

Unbeknown to the dog handler the proceedings could not continue until the Group Captain reached his aircraft, which so happened to be the first one near to where he was stood. With all the activity it seemed pretty pointless for him to be there.

Everything seemed to come to a standstill, that is till the dog became aware of a car pulling up behind the handler. At this point all hell broke loose. It seems that the Group Captain pulled up behind the handler, got out of his car and sprinted for his aircraft. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to guess what happened next. This particular dog’s method of attack was to attach himself to anything soft within easy reach which on this occasion happed to be a right buttock. An ambulance was summoned and the Group Captain conveyed to Sick Quarter face down on a stretcher.

Because of all activity and hilarity amongst the flying and ground crews the exercise was called off. The dog handler, who had visions of spending the rest of his national service in a cell was relieved of his duty to await the Group Captains pleasure. Some time passed and a summons came to attend SHQ, the SWO who had been instructed in methods which the handler had no understanding and seemed to take an affront that an LAC national serviceman would have the audacity to speak to a Group Captain and also bite his bum.

Marched at double time he came to a halt in front of the desk. Thought it was nice the Group Captain was stood behind his desk, just didn't expect him to stand for me. The great man spoke, "As you see I am standing that's because I cannot sit down” he said, I think at this stage I am looking at 28days for a starter and then he smiled and said it was his fault. " I should not have run passed the dog he was only doing what he was trained to do". You could of knocked me down with a dog bone. The SWO was not imprested, life was a bit difficult for a time.

Shane was an evil dog and would eat anything, including me.

John Armfield (France)

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Squadron Leader Frank McKenna OBE

(He helped a politician keep his word)

On the moonless night of March 24, 1944, 79 Allied officers escaped from the German prison camp, Stalag Luft III (The Great Escape). Of the escapees, all bar three were quickly recaptured, and, of these, 50 were murdered by the Gestapo on the direct orders of Adolf Hitler.

Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, in a statement to the Commons, vowed: "We will never cease in our efforts to collect the evidence to identify all those responsible and are firmly resolved that these foul criminals shall be tracked down to the last man, wherever they take refuge. When the war is over, they will be brought to exemplary justice."

The fact that against all the odds, the murderers were brought to book, owed much to a most remarkable Blackpool policeman, Frank McKenna.

With the outbreak of the second world war, McKenna, who had considerable civilian flying experience, was deemed to be in a reserved occupation and was refused permission to join the RAF. Later, when high losses in bomber command saw the rules eased, he became a flight engineer, eventually flying over 30 Lancaster bomber missions throughout Europe.

By 1945, now a Squadron Leader, he was transferred to London to the RAF's Special Investigation Branch. Seventeen months after the murders in Stalag Luft III, McKenna flew to Germany to investigate what is still the worst war crime against British nationals. McKenna spoke little of the language and was initially allocated only an interpreter, Warrant Officer Williams. His task was complicated by the chaos and corruption of post- war Germany, then controlled in separate zones by the allies. He soon became adept at navigating through bureaucracy. He also found the appearance of a packet of cigarettes could smooth ruffled feathers. Imposing in stature and nicknamed Sherlock Holmes by service colleagues, his pale yet piercing eyes masked an intellect few could equal. Always willing to act first and ask questions later, beneath a somewhat prickly persona lay a committed Christian who never lost his highly acute sense of justice. This proved vital as he attempted to comprehend the rapidly unfolding inhumanity of his fellow man. Most poignantly, among the 50 victims were two fellow officers whom had known personally, Flight Lieutenant Edgar Humphreys and Flying Officer Robert Stewart. Both prior to the war, had been stationed at RAF Squires Gate, where McKenna was a regular visitor. (continued on next page)

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McKenna brought together a small, independent and remarkably dedicated team. Never larger than five officers and 14 NCOs, it evolved into a copybook civilian detective operation, utilising energy, experience, intuition, routine and, not least, the ability to improvise. Interrogations soon established that the murders, most committed on Good Friday, followed a pattern: a captured PoW would be driven back towards the camp by Gestapo officers, the car would stop and the prisoner, released from his handcuffs, was invited to relieve himself at the side of the road. As he did so, he was shot in the back of the head. Each body was cremated and then returned to the camp. The Gestapo fabricated evidence purporting to show all victims had been shot while trying to escape.

Having established a list of wanted men, the team embarked on a dangerous phase of their operation, visiting internment camps in search of their quarry. McKenna's greatest coup was to track down the murderer of the veteran airman, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, principal organiser of the escape. The suspect, Emil Schulz, a former Gestapo official, was found, arrested and extradited in the course of a single day in 1946.

After interrogating a fellow Gestapo officer, McKenna had obtained a bland description of a block of flats in which Schulz had lived. A search proved fruitless but a stroke of luck sent him to the nearby village of Frankenholz. Here he found Schulz's wife, seemingly living alone and denying all knowledge of her husband. He undertook a minute search of the building and discovered an intimate love letter on paper from a nearby French prison camp, where he found Schulz masquerading under the name Ernst Schmidt. McKenna successfully negotiated his immediate extradition and escorted him to London. Aware he would not see his wife again, Schulz asked McKenna if he could write a note to his wife. McKenna nodded, and, totally contrary to regulations, agreed to deliver it. He duly travelled to Frankenholz to see Frau Schulz, warned her she was unlikely to see her husband ever again, and handed over the letter. Allowing her time to read its contents, she then had to hand it back to McKenna. They shook hands, and McKenna drove away. Schulz stood trial for war crimes, was found guilty and executed on February 27, 1948.

One suspect on McKenna's list, Erich Zacharius, he had to arrest twice. Having brought him out of the Russian zone, at considerable personal risk, the suspect was "loaned" to the Americans who let him go. He was re-captured on April 1, 1946, as he attempted to return to the Russian zone. Transferred to to a supposedly secure compound, he even disappeared, for a time, there. He, too, was later executed for war crimes.

McKenna himself arrested more than 20 former Gestapo officers, the largest single total out of 69 men brought to justice. A few committed suicide, but most were convicted of murder and imprisoned or executed.

In 1948, when the Government decided not to prosecute any further war criminals, the investigation was wound down. That year, together with his CO, Wing Commander Wilfred Bowes, Squadron Leader Frank McKenna was awarded the OBE. In 1948 he returned to the Blackpool police to qualify for his civilian police pension. He rejoined the RAF Police in 1956 on a short-service commission with the rank of Flying Officer serving in Cyprus during the EOKA crisis and later in Iraq. He finally left the RAF in 1961. Later he joined the

Ministry of Defence where he vetted potential service personnel. (continued on next page)

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In 1971, at 65, he retired, only to be in demand as a security consultant for north west commercial companies. He died, aged 87 on February 14, 1994, just one month before the 50th Anniversary of the Great Escape. His military manhunt remains a footnote in history; sadly neither Eden nor Churchill mentioned these events in their memoirs. McKenna himself remained reticent about the episode, typically not wanting fuss. But in providing exemplary justice, he became someone who actually helped a politician keep his word. (With thanks to the Blackpool Gazette).

A full narrative of the investigation can be found in “RAF Police – The ‘Great Escape’ Murders” by Stephen R Davies, published by Woodfield Publishing, ISBN 1-84683-086-9.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame. I find it ironic that the colours red, white, and blue stand for freedom, until they're flashing behind you.

2018 CENTENARY EVENTS

David Budd, Association “National” Chairman, has already contacted the Provost Marshal with a view to the RAFPA working closely with the RAFP in establishing a fitting celebration for our centenary. It is requested that Branches canvas members as to what ideas they might have for a suitable celebration marking the RAF Police 100 years of service to the Crown.

MEMORIAL PAVERS

It has been suggested that a system be introduced whereby those who wish to do so might pre-order a Memorial Paver which would then be dedicated at the NMA following the subject’s death. The Branch Officer’s (draft) response to this being: “We cannot see how there could be any possible objection to this. We feel that this is a matter for the RAFP Memorial Committee to consider not RAFPA”.

NATIONAL OFFICERS – TERMS OF OFFICE

It has been suggested that the ECM gives consideration to establishing fixed

Terms of Office for all National Officers, similar to that already established for Trustees. The Branch Officer’s (draft) reply to this is: “We can think of no reason why the status quo should be changed. It must be remembered that the EC can only make a recommendation on a matter such as this to members, they cannot implement/impose it without prior AGM agreement.”

Should you have any suggestions or observations on any of these matters please forward them to the Branch Secretary [email protected] as soon as possible.

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ALAN RUSLING MEMORIAL AWARD

I am pleased to announce on behalf of the Adjudicators that the co-recipient of the Alan Rusling Memorial Award for 2016 is:

JOHN ARMFIELD

When making their decision the Adjudicators considered the following information from the nomination to be relevant:

John joined the RAF Police Association in 2002 and prior to his move to France was a member of the East Midlands Branch.

Having come to the conclusion in late 2014 that the Overseas Members of RAFPA had become the forgotten few he arranged for a canvass of members gaining support for an application to form an Overseas Branch of the Association. John envisaged that any such Branch would be ‘Virtual’ in nature being administered utilising its own website, electronic mail and the various social media platforms available.

In February 2015 John ‘Petitioned’ the Association Officers for permission to form the St.Michael’s Branch and that process is now history.

John was elected as Branch Chairman in May 2015 and re-elected in 2016. Under his quiet guidance the Branch has flourished ensuring that the Overseas members, who reside in 22 different countries worldwide, are no longer forgotten about when decisions are being made and there is no doubt that the Branch members are now amongst the best informed group of members in the Association. Since February 2015 he has demonstrated his commitment by attending two Association AGM’s and two meetings of the Executive Council, at his own expense, as a voice for the Overseas members; it is his intention to once again represent the Branch at the EC meeting in London this October.

In 2016 John became an Association Trustee demonstrating an equal level of commitment to the Association as a whole.

John most certainly shares one of Alan Rusling’s core values firmly believing that “The member comes first, Egos come last”.

Neil Rusling Branch Secretary

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GILLY POTTER “GOES UNDER THE COSH”

On Monday 24 January 1955 I arrived at RAF Cardington to report for my National Service. I only spent a week there which was mainly taken up with ‘kitting out' and then it was off to West Kirby for “square bashing”.

I am not going into great detail about West Kirby as every reader will have experienced basic training , let’s just say that it lived up to what I had been warned about! As recruits we were paid 28 shillings a week, of which 10 shillings was deducted for messing and the social security ‘insurance stamp' which left very little as we had to purchase our own cleaning materials, including cloths, blanco and polish from the NAAFI canteen.

During the first couple of weeks each man was medically examined and received a number of ‘injections' administered in not what could be described as a caring manner! I suppose they would have been for cholera, tetanus and possibly diphtheria.

In addition to square-bashing and lectures each squad of 30 men took its turn performing cookhouse duties. Our meals were cooked by full-time cooks, many of whom had probably been recruits themselves only weeks before, but some of the food preparation, and much of the cleaning of the mess-halls after meals was carried out by recruits.

After two months of hard graft we had, supposedly, been transformed into the ‘force of responsible, efficient and disciplined men' predicted earlier by the corporal, and after attending a passing-out parade we were allowed to return to the bosom of our families, at least for a weekend.

During the latter part of square-bashing we were interviewed about what ‘trade' we intended to follow for the remainder of our National Service. I rather fancied doing the Morse Code as a signaller, so I duly sat the tests. I don't know how I shaped at the tests, as when I was interviewed by the Officer he made no reference to it, and simply asked what I had done in civvy street before being conscripted. When I told him I had been a Police Cadet in the City of London he said “that's easy then, we'll put you in the RAF Police”. So after ‘Passing-Out' from West Kirby I found myself heading for Netheravon and the RAF Police training school.

Everyone was required to complete the Station Police course, which took four weeks. At the beginning of the Station Police training course we were told that if we chose to do so we could go on to complete a course in dog-handling I decided to take this option. At the end of a two month training course I, together with my dog ‘Tina’, was posted to RAF about 15km from .

RAF Calshot was a storage facility for half-a-dozen enormous military ‘sea-planes'. They were parked on a ‘hard standing' surrounded by a security fence and were ‘cocooned' in some sort of weatherproof wrapping. I suppose they had been parked there since the end of WWII but I have no idea why, as the war had been over for 10 years. (continued on next page)

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My duties consisted of patrolling inside the security fence to ensure no one entered the area and tampered with the aircraft, although I cannot imagine why anyone would wish to do so.

I'd been at Calshot for three or four weeks and was just beginning to settle into some sort of routine when I received the news that I was to be re-posted and that I was to make my way post haste to RAF Portland, which I discovered was situated on an island near to Weymouth.

RAF Portland was a radar unit, the operational site of which was perched high up on the cliffs. The radar site was surrounded by a high wire fence with access by way of a single gate, controlled during the day by the Station Police working out of a guardroom alongside the gate. Between 6pm and 8am gate duties were the responsibility of the dog handling team. The work was split into two shifts, 6pm to midnight and midnight to 8am, but in practice one man invariably did a double shift and worked throughout the night. As well as controlling the gate the dog handler was also tasked, together with his dog, with patrolling the site to ensure that no one gained access illegally.

There were four dog handlers at Portland, including me and Corporal Allen, who was known as ‘Dicky' during our RAF days; in later years he reverted to his ‘given' name Allen. We still communicate with each other in a long-term friendship extending over 50 years.

In January 1957 my period of National Service came to an end. Firstly I made my way to RAF Netheravon, where I bade a fond farewell to Tina, my canine companion for the past 20-or- so months. From Netheravon it was onto our ‘parent station' RAF Sopley, near Bournemouth, from where I ‘cleared’. My Discharge Certificate is date-stamped 23 January 1957, which means I did exactly two years service, but my official discharge date is listed as 16 February. I can only suppose the additional three weeks were in lieu of leave. I was placed on the RAF Reserve, but never completed any duties in this capacity, as shortly thereafter I moved to Southern Rhodesia (as was), never again to live permanently in my country of birth.

My rank on discharge was SAC , I didn't make it to Corporal. For that I would have had to ‘sign on' for a third year, something I had no intention of doing!

After leaving the RAF Gilly joined the BSAP (British South Africa Police) serving for 30 years, rising through the ranks from Constable to Assistant Commissioner. He now lives in Cape Town.

Van and Kobus get a pilot to fly them to the high veldt to hunt springbok. They bag six very big bucks and call it a day. As they start loading the plane for the return trip the pilot says "The plane can only take four of those“. The two lads object strongly. "Last year we shot six the same size and the pilot let us put them all on board and he had the same plane as yours“. Reluctantly, the pilot gives in and all six are loaded. However, even with full power, the little plane can't handle the load and down it goes and crashes in the middle of nowhere. A few moments later, climbing out of the wreckage, Van asks Kobus: "Any idea where we are?“ "I think we're pretty close to where we crashed last year," says Kobus.

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David Budd

Association “National” Chairman

I enlisted into the in June 1965 mustered into Trade Group 17 (Clerk Secretarial). I underwent Trade Training at RAF Hereford before being posted to Headquarters Provost and Security Services (), Bromyard Avenue, Acton, London. Needless to say no one in the General Office at RAF Hereford had the faintest idea where it was, other than I had to report in plain clothes, so travelling to London I arrived after 5pm to find that all the RAF staff had gone home. Fortunately my home was an hour away so home I went. Next day saw me back at HQ P&SS (UK) for the start of a very enjoyable 4 years on Vetting.

The attraction of being an RAF Policeman beckoned and in 1969 I went to RAF St Athan for driver training and then to RAF Debden for a further stint of trade training.

Postings to RAF Ballykelly, Strike Command, Akrotiri, and JARIC (UK) followed before a tour with the International Police at Allied Forces Central Europe. By this time I was married, to Carol, and we had two wonderful children (Christopher and Sarah).

Family responsibilities meant planning for the future and in 1978 I applied to join the Ontario Provincial Police. The cost of having to travel to Canada for the selection processes curbed this idea.

Back in UK I was posted to RAF Neatishead and in 1979 was selected to attend a Special Investigation Course at RAF Newton (I seem to recall that the instructors were Barry Mason, Dick Rugman and John Clements).

Successful completion of the course saw me posted to HQ P&SS (UK) Rudloe Manor where I was the Customs and Excise Liaison NCO within the Flying Complaints Flight until 1982 when posted onto Traffic at P & SS (RAFG). Within 6 months my third came through and following GST2 at RAF Hereford I was posted to RAF Laarbruch. This for me, and my family, was a great tour and we were sorry to leave in 1986 when I returned to HQ P&SS (UK) as a Flying Complaints Flight Investigator.

In May 1991 I retired from the RAF Police to pursue a career as a civilian Police Officer with the Wiltshire Police. That perhaps is a story for another time.

I remain proud of my service as an RAF Policeman and enjoy the contact with colleagues and friends that membership of the RAF Police Association affords.

We all share that common bond in that we served our country, and the Royal Air Force, as RAF Police Officers, with pride and dignity. Let us not forget this as we continue that pride and dignity as members of our own exclusive club, the Association.

The Association values its overseas members and I wish the St.Michael’s Branch every success for the future.

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THE RAF POLICE MEMORIAL

The RAF Police Memorial is located at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire, and is is funded solely by donations. Following an appeal, plus a generous grant from the National Lottery, work was completed in 2007 with the rd Dedication Parade being held on 23 June that year. The Memorial is “two sided”, the front being dedicated to the serving RAF Police with the reverse being dedicated to “Those Who Served”.

Two parades are held at the memorial each year. A "snowdrop" parade each March in conjunction with the RMPA and an annual parade of Re-Dedication on 23rd June.

In 2015 work was completed on the construction of a paved area around the Memorial providing spaces for engraved granite stones to be placed by those who wish to honour the memory of deceased members of the RAF Police “family”. A larger granite “Queen’s“ stone has been placed at the memorial end of the paved area engraved with the words “IN LOVING MEMORY”.

The Royal Air Force Police Association now makes an annual donation to the Memorial Fund at a per capita rate. However this alone will not be sufficient to maintain the memorial in perpetuity and other donations are essential.

For further information on how to make a donation to the Memorial Fund and/or to purchase an engraved Memorial Stone please contact the Branch Secretary.

For up to date information on RAFP/RAFPA events at the NMA and to access an extensive photo gallery go to: http://www.rafpa.com/nma.html.

Sec’s note: This information has previously been circulated by e-mail and is on the Branch Website, I make no apology for it being repeated as “The Fund Needs You”.

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The Wanderer September 2016

Association Contacts in U.K. 2017 Annual Subscription 2016/17 st The Annual Rate is £ 12.50 and is due on 1 January. It can be Chairman: paid in several different ways:

David Budd Sterling Cheque made payable to the RAF Police Association, or, [email protected] Sterling Standing Order (Banking details and a Standing Order Vice-Chairman: Mandate can be found in the Member’s Area of the Branch website), or, Alan Mitchell Sterling EFT direct into the Association’s Bank Account using your [email protected] Surname and Membership Number as the reference, or,

Secretary: Credit or Debit card. Jeremy Fenton If you wish to pay by Credit/Debit Card the recommended, and [email protected] most secure, method is by using PayPal and this can be done via the Association website at: Membership Secretary: http://www.rafpassociation.com/subscription-gateway/ David Wardell [email protected] again using your Surname and Membership Number as the

reference. This is probably the most cost effective method if you Treasurer & Webmaster: do not have a Sterling bank account. Mike Thornton The alternative to PayPal is by a combination of e-mail and text [email protected] (sms) which is obviously not as secure. To use this method of

Griff Editor: payment e-mail the Treasurer at [email protected] with the following information: Mitch O’Neill The Card number, the Card Expiry Date & your Surname and [email protected] Membership Number. This to be followed up by a text (sms) to Archivist: +44 7771 716 229 supplying:

John Curtis The Cardholders name (as shown on the card) & the 3-digit [email protected] security code on the reverse of the card.

What & Where Is This

(Answer in next edition)

(Phill Geraghty correctly identified the town of Elsloo in Holland shown in the last edition)

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