Dick Barton, of course the ‘special agent’ of that era. So, the first fortnightly r
eports were submitted by Plt Off R. Barton with the officers slightly ahead in the cull of flies. Next two reports showed the airmen well ahead with the NCOs trailing. A comment was made that word was to be had with the senior Flight Sergeant (Discip.) to point to the NCOs the need of example. This bore fruit in the next three submissions that showed the NCOs 
top of the league. The next fortnight had the airmen first with the officers last. The next return showed again, the officers last with Barton (to add verisimilitude now promoted to Flying Officer) suggesting, tentatively, that the officers had all but eradicated flies in their lines and further submissions might be of little value. And there we stopped and waited. Two months passed and then ‘it’ arrived; a peremptory demand for ‘Fly, Pest, Control Return’, remarking that we were two reports in arrears. ‘Submit immediately.’
We’d won! Confirmation that all the
y did was shuffle paper, even fly paper. What a laugh. Years later I wondered whether we’d been outsmarted. Did one of them have a sense of humour? Humoured us and then sent a chaser and so had the last laugh? No, I decided, they were too old.
We’ll never know. They had been young once.
- Desmond Penrose
The Undeclared War Page 1 2
