New Member

 S Coates          Buccaneer

An interesting email from our newest Member:

I was posted to 208 Squadron at Lossiemouth in March 1988 as a Corporal A Tech E (later Eng Tech AE)  As well as my on aircraft trade-based work on both Buccaneer and Hunter, I was also Flight Line and HAS Ops trained.  During my 6 year tour with 208 Squadron, I was detailed for many detachments, many in Western Europe but also in Canada and Cyprus.  I was also one of the first squadron technicians sent to Bahrain during the first Gulf War with the first 6 Buccaneers: P-I-R-A-T-E.  I continued to serve on the squadron until the Buccaneers were withdrawn from service in April 1984.

Highlights - I never managed to get a backseat in a Buccaneer, but I did get a trip in a Hunter: Mark Royce flew me down to RAF Finningley to recover a Buccaneer that had diverted in with an Emergency State 2.  Did it really only take 40 minutes to get there?

Low Point - Disbandment.  Those six years were among the  happiest of my working life; it was a sad day when it ended,

The latter half of my RAF career was spent on the Tornado.  I retired from the RAF after 22 years service in January 2005.

I am now employed at RAF Marham by BAE Systems as a Technical Support Engineer in the Tornado Depth Maintenance Facility

Contact Re-established

J. Menzies            Buccaneer

Contact Lost

G.B. Alford             Hunter

Tom Sheppard       Hunter

C. J. Leach             Buccaneer

Current Membership Details

Full Members                        400

Honorary Members               4

Associate Members               1

Total Members                       405

Members Not in Contact         66

Total Members in Contact        339