RAF Upper Heyford 1946-1950

All Photographs courtesy of George Sizeland

Basic Course 3-17 September 1949. Instructors front row seated: second left George Sizeland, 4th left Norman Pilling, 6th left Johnny Clargo. Extreme right Bill Coad, 10th right arms folded. Wg.Cdr. J.C. Killkenny. Photo courtesy Duncan Sainsbury.

HEYFORD COURSE c. PODGER ECCLES et al — Undated Course photograph. George Eccles third from left and Jimmy Blyth is sixth left on the front row

MARCHPAST SS — Officer Cadets march on for wings parade

BILL PAUL, JOCK BROWN — Bill Paul second left, Jock Brown on right (undated)

HEYFORD INSTUCTORS — Heyford PJIs c. 1950 Jimmy Blyth standing on right, Bill Coad sitting second left

HEYFORD STAFF PARADR ss — AOC Inspection

HEYFORD TRAINING HANGAR. FAN TRAINERjpeg — Fan descent trainer

LANDING TRAINER ss — Slide landing trainer

PROGRESSIVE LANDING TRAINER ss — Progressive landing trainer

WHEEL LANDING TRAINER HEYFORD — Wheel landing trainer

GEOREGE ECCLES ss2 — Flight Sergeant George Eccles

23 SEPTEMBER 1947 — Dakota mass drop 23 September 1947

DAKOTA STICK ss — Dakota exits 12 May 1949

ALF LOUD HAILER SS — Alf Card on loudhailer, Weston

BALLOON WESTON c. 1950 — Balloon Weston *circa* 1949

GARY LAWRY ss — Basic Course 276 September 1949 1st Balloon descent. Photo courtesy Gary Lawry

blyth exit for heyford? — Jimmy Blyth drifter exit

Screen Shot 2019-10-01 at 14.52.14 — PTS Staff emplane C119 Fairchild Packet (undated)

WESTON 1951 ss — Weston 1951. Hastings with C119s

PMRAFNS 1949

1949 was the year we trained the Nursing Team. I despatched them on their final descent on 24^th June at 1130 from a Dakota over Netheravon, but I didn’t train them! Val Valentine was their Instructor and he insisted on being on the DZ so he would get a hug from the female members of the team!!! So would have been on the DZ facing the Press etc.

George Sizeland September 2018

Royal Tournament Earls Court 1949 – 1950

WRAF CARDINGTON ss — Cardington rehearsal 1949

Royal Tournament Earls Court June 1950

In the foreground is a copy of a death slide which extended the length of the display area. The PJIs wore a harness with two liftwebs which passed through two slots of a bar which had a grooved wheel attached to the cable. A single file stick of six would step off at one-second intervals and hurtle the length of the stadium then. The PJI then released his grip on the ‘liftweb and completed a parachute roll.

The Fan in the same picture is a miniature balloon with just one jumper. He steps into the cage and goes up 30 feet and jumps out and runs out of the arena. There are gasps from the audience because the end of the cable is attached with a piece of 18 thread, which breaks as he runs out. With the spotlight on him they don’t notice the cable!

All designed be the brilliant STAN KELLAWAY PJI with the talent as an engineer (A couple of years later he designed the Tree Lowering Equipment for the SAS in Malaya (Jumped with that one also in 1955 but it wasn’t much fun!!!)

(George Sizeland September 2018)