THE END AN ERA (for me at least).

By Dave Sidgwick.Engines.


The 25th of September 2013 was, for me, the end of an era. It was the end of a massive part, 11 years out of just under 25, of my Royal Air Force life. That day marked the last flight, after forty-seven years' service, of the RAF VC10, in fact any VC10 ever built. Why it meant so much to me I will try to tell you here.

If you cast your minds back to 81st Entry Journal No 1 in November 2004 you will recall an item there, written by me, concerning my posting to RAF Valley in Anglesey following graduation in 1958. My first boss there was to play a significant part in our lives. If you scan through that article - 'Baird Language But Sound Advice.' - you will see that my first meeting with Flt Sgt Baird was somewhat less than friendly but subsequent ones were just the opposite resulting in one sentence, "Never let yourself become a number, if you want anything ask for it." This, and the constant reminder from both my parents to "Aim high." and from Dad, who was a devout railway man in the accounts side, "Do not be dazzled by the glamorous fighter aircraft but remember there will always be Transport."; these following their pre-graduation parade tour of Halton, were to stay with me for the rest of my Service career and beyond.

I referred above to 'our' lives because, on Anglesey, I met the girl who was to become my wife and, in 1960 became engaged to her, then wham - PWR and a posting overseas. I had to explain to my intended all about it, I had no clue where I was going, for how long or when. She was very upset and could not be expected to understand the mysteries of the RAF posting system; nor did I! Off to see the careers officer, with the words of Tom Baird echoing in my mind "Never.... etc.", to tell him that I had to be told what the future was; I was now engaged and my future wife had to be aware of what lay ahead. To cut a long story short we got an accompanied tour to Cyprus and, following some further hassles, flew out together. In all the negotiations the words of Flt Sgt Baird were always there.

When we got to Cyprus I was posted to 70 Sqn, on Hastings; no problems there until I received the Flt Cdr's brief about the number of detachments to El Adem. Still no problem until he asked those of us new to the Sqn how many were married. When he got his answer he made the statement that as far as he was concerned all wives were, and I quote, "Appendages!" Leaving the briefing I went straight over to ASF and into the Cpls' crew room to enquire whether anyone would do a swop from ASF to 70 Sqn. I got what I wanted straight away and we both completed the paperwork and the deed was done. Good old Tom Baird yet again.

Upon completion of the tour, or as we prefer to call it, our three year honeymoon, I was posted to Lyneham, because that was where I had heard that the VC10 was going. Still a Cpl, now working on Britannias and Comets, Dad's words about transport were uppermost in my mind.

The story about the VC10 going to Lyneham was incorrect, as we all now know, Brize Norton was to be the place. How to get there? Along came the promotion, date related, following the maxim 3-4-5. I had been a Corporal for four years and was qualified so, on the due date, I was elevated. I was on shift work and the practice hitherto had been to move any newly promoted SNCO to another shift. In my case I was asked to remain on the same shift as the incumbent SNCO had become ill. Of course I knew of the illness and said that I would have no objections to remaining in position; I thought nothing else of it and got on with the job. After about three months I was summoned to the Wingco Tech's office, for what reason I did not know. It seemed that staying in the same job following promotion to SNCO was unusual and he told me that I had done a good job and how could he help me? I said that I had hoped that the VC10 was coming to Lyneham but had realised that this would not happen but still wanted to get on them. The Wingco then said he would do all he could to try to help. I got on with the job only to be summoned back after a week or so to be told that a friend of his, a Sqn Ldr Johnson who was heading the Technical side of the VC10 project team, was looking for an addition to his team and I could be that man. I was delighted, cleared Lyneham and reported to, who was without doubt, the best boss I had in all my service. The team was based at the Vickers factory at Weybridge and accommodated at the nearby, and now very famous, Headley Court. The date was early 1965, eighteen months ahead of the aircraft coming into service at Fairford, the Brize runway then being updated.

The project team that had been operating for some time before I got there had done a lot of the pre-service work required. I was slotted into the team working closely with all of them, but mostly with a Ch Tech John Redman. What a joy it was, John was very thorough, as were they all. My task was to assist with the provisioning of specialist tooling and later to become qualified in engine removal/replacement including writing the procedures; I was to be able to carry out a full engine ground run and teach others to do so, then to sign them off as qualified. Additionally I was tasked with learning the fuel system, such that I could teach it, and to assist, in a minor way, with the simulator where the differences between the civilian VC10 and the military version manifested themselves. That mainly concerned the flight refuelling capability which the aircrew side of the project team had largely dealt with, but there were some items which required tweaking to make the simulator accurate.

On the engine running side I went down to the flight shed and looked for the resident Rolls Royce representative - very sadly I cannot recall his name. Suffice to say he was a fantastic help to me, he would call up our office whenever there were runs to be done and I watched him perform many pre-service runs on quite a few aircraft, mostly Super VC10s heading to BOAC , as it was before being renamed BA. Then came the time when he asked me to be present at a certain time as he wanted me to carry out some engine runs after which he would sign me off to carry out, and instruct on them. I reported to his office in the flight shed and we walked out to the aircraft together, by this time I had written the pre-start check list, a lot of it adapted, with his permission of course, from his own. I still have my original copy from which all the check lists issued to newly qualified engine-runners was taken. My original is in a plastic folder adorned with Rolls Royce decals. The aircraft to be used on the day for my qualification runs was G-ASGG which was later delivered to BOAC and then, much later, be hi-jacked to Dawson's Field in the Middle East where it was blown up. On that day I was duly cleared and signed off to run engines and was quite pleased with myself. Sometime later the RR man called me again and this time he showed me the first aircraft that would enter RAF service - XR808 - standing on the ramp at Weybridge having been rolled out from the production line that morning. It had never had its engines run, they had not even been motored over. He said "There you go David, do the runs." Of course he was there with me but I went all through the procedures, which took the best part of a day, at the end of which he said that I had done OK and signed off the engine side of the aircraft for flight. I have been told that I was on the first flight of the aircraft terminating at Wisley but I do not remember that.

So! The two main bits of advice I had received served me well.

The fleet entered service one at a time, the initially ordered five - XR 806 to XR810 - and then the subsequent nine - XV101 to XV109. Still a Sergeant I became a crew chief, or ground engineer, or flying spanner, call it what you will, until one day - wham again, I was posted to become a Vulcan Crew Chief. Having just completed twenty four weeks of cross trade training on the 'ten' I was appalled and wrote to the postings people to tell them so. It must have been quite a letter because they sent some hapless young chap to explain the virtues of becoming a V bomber crew chief. One of them was that I would be a Ch Tech in one year having qualified on the Vulcan. I felt sorry for this poor bloke because, back to the 3-4-5 rule, I pointed out to him that I was in fact due my 'Chief' the following week. Common sense prevailed so the Vulcan posting was scrapped and I completed five years flying until, yet again, the demon posting people reared their ugly heads. This time I was going to Germany on Buccaneers. Off again to the 'adminners' to find out whether it would be an accompanied tour; yes it would, but I would be nine months on my own waiting for a married quarter. Step forward, metaphorically, my advisers ' I suggested to the posting people that if I had to do nine months unaccompanied I would be better off going to Gan and thus be able to use my 'ten' experience and not waste what I had gained. Common sense again prevailed and off I went to Gan on the proviso that I was coming back to Brize. This all happened according to plan and so I returned and did another five years flying with the VC10.

I met a lot of people whilst on the flying tour; two I had met before, one the ex Wingco Tech from Lyneham who had got me on the 'ten', now a Groupie, we had long chats as he was on some tour or other liaising with the American military. The other was the boss of the ASF in Cyprus who I had worked for following the exchange posting. It was he who said to me - his having added that I must not breathe a word about it - that I had got my 'crown' and it would be announced shortly.

Thus my time on the VC10 came to an end and I started on what would become the end of my service life. But that's another story.

I had taken the advice from Tom Baird which amounted to not allowing myself to become anonymous and that of my parents about my aiming high; our two sons operate to the same criteria as do our grandchildren. It also helps, mind you, if you are also a cheeky b****r!!