Thanks so much for the update and invitation… damn! Now that travel has lightened up I would have loved to make the trip and spend time with 4 Squadron. We have to improve our transatlantic communication!
We are hosting a Harrier Reunion in New Bern NC the weekend of 23 April and I am committed. Too bad… I’m sure your beer will be much better:)
Take lots of pics and please pass my warm regards to Boss McKeon, Steve Cheeseman and all 4 Squadron members.
Best, Bul
Thanks for the email Chris but I will not be attending as it is our 44th wedding anniversary on that date and we will be on a cruise ship on our way back to Southampton. I am really disappointed to miss the final beer call; it would have been good to see many old friends and “chew the fat”.
All the best, Brian L
Hi Godber, Despite our borders finally being opened we won’t be able to make the reunion. Say hi to everyone for us and hope you all have a great night. Cheers, Killer
Hi Chris-
Great to hear from you! I am glad to see the guys are getting together and would so love to join you but I cannot travel in April. I hope it is a memorable occasion and well attended. Looking forward to some good photos from the event. I think of all “the chaps” often with enormous affection. Please pass along my fond regards. I hope I have another trip to UK in me but regret not this time. All Best, Smokey M
Hi Chris and thanks for the update and info re the beer call.
Sadly I am unable to attend as I am still in NZ hiding from the plague!! Been here now for 2.5 years but plan to return mid May for about 5 months. Missing the final fourfax do!
Many thanks for all your great work over the years and please pass on my best wishes to all the mates. We are all in good shape and look forward to meeting up with some of the team over the Pegasus weekend in June.
I have today sent this email to all registered users. If you haven’t received it, please send an email to me – chris@f***f**.co.uk with your intentions.
Thanks!
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As we announced last year, the Association is discontinuing physical meet-ups and reunions until such time as IV Sqn wants to recommence. Accordingly, we are going to hold a final beer call and distribute the remaining funds to good causes.
With COVID restrictions finally lifting, here are the details of the final IV Squadron Association function:
Date: Friday 22 April 2022 Time: 1800 hrs onward Location: Burghley Park Golf Club, Stamford Food: Sausage and/or bacon baps Cost: Drinks will be free (beer and soft drinks, not spirits) until the money runs out – we do not expect this to happen before 2100 hrs Dress: Smart casual
The last reunion at Burghley Park Golf Club cost £1500 and we charged members £10 each. We are budgeting £2000 towards this event and will not charge an entrance fee for members plus one partner or guest.
So we can give the Golf Club accurate numbers, please reply – by 8 April – to this email to me at chris@f***f**.co.uk with:
1. Yes, I plan to attend solo 2. Yes, I plan to attend with my partner/guest 3. No, I will not be attending.
I am writing to you to ask if you can help me find any information regarding No. 4 Squadron’s activities in Scotland during August 1990.
I understand that at that time the squadron was based at Gutersloh in Germany and commanded by Malcolm White. However, I have been told that up to 4 of the planes and crews flew low level training missions in Scotland in August of that year.
Do you or any of the members you know remember that period of time and who from No. 4 went to Scotland? Is there anyone I can speak to regarding that period of time and the pilots who flew in the Harriers, please?
I would be happy to call you at your convenience to discuss this matter further, should that be acceptable to you.
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give me.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Illsley
Can anyone remember this exercise or have something in their logbooks? Let me know if you have and I’ll put you in touch with Matthew
Update: Matthew has got back to me with more information:
Dear Mr Parker,
Thank you very much for posting my initial enquiry. If I may, I thought I would add a clarification to see if it would jog people’s memories or allow them to tell me I’m barking up the wrong tree (or just barking).
I am writing to ask if anyone can help me in locating any information about No. 4 Squadron’s activities in Scotland around August 1990. This is a slightly unusual situation, but I will try to explain as briefly as possible.
I am informally assisting Dr David Clarke of Sheffield Hallam University in researching a UFO sighting which allegedly occurred near the hamlet of Calvine on 4th August 1990, and I was wondering if the incident is known to anyone within No. 4 Squadron.
According to military sources, the incident began when 2 men drove 13 miles from Pitlochry around sunset (8pm), parked in or near Calvine, and entered a heavily wooded area, likely with the intention of poaching deer. On reaching a fence that separated the trees from some moorland, the men climbed over and instantly became aware of a large, diamond-shaped craft (80-100ft/25-30m in length) hovering silently in the air above them. Afraid, the men immediately leapt back into the woods and hid.
According to an account given by the main witness to an RAF officer, a couple of minutes later, a high-flying Harrier jet overflew the location before going north, and a couple of minutes after that, another Harrier, possibly the same one, came from the north and circled the hovering object a few times at low level before flying off north again. The diamond-shaped craft itself hovered for another couple of minutes before taking off vertically at high speed, again in silence, and the men then went back to their car and returned to Pitlochry.
Crucially, when the jet was circling the craft, 1 of the men had the presence of mind to take 6 colour photos which he later sent, along with the negatives, to the Daily Record newspaper. The paper in turn sent them to the MOD in London. Multiple MOD and RAF personnel have since confirmed both publicly and in private that the photos and negatives were received, and that prints, including poster-sized ones, were made, shared between departments, and studied/measured in great detail by JARIC, which confirmed their authenticity. However, to date, these photos and negatives have never been publicly released or published.
To my understanding, No. 4 Squadron was based at Gutersloh in Germany in 1990 and commanded by Wing Commander Malcolm White. However, the National Archives states that 4 Harriers flew low-level training missions in Scotland in August of that year. In addition, page 36 of the declassified MOD file DEFE-24-1940-1_2 is a ‘defensive’ press briefing dated 14th September 1990. Having been prepared by the Secretariat Air Staff for the Assistant Private Secretary for the Under Secretary of State (Armed Forces), it states: ‘The [Calvine] negatives have been considered by the relevant staffs who have established that the jet aircraft is a Harrier (and also identified a barely visible second aircraft, again probably a Harrier) but have reached no definite conclusion regarding the large object.’ Moreover, page 55 of the declassified MOD file DEFE-31-180-1 is a document from November 1991. In it, whilst, ordering new line drawings to be made of the UFO in the Calvine photos, an unnamed officer wrote: “Task already discussed with Ops 4 Sqn.”
I am hence trying to speak to anyone from No. 4 Squadron who might be able to help identify:
(a) whether (and if so, how) No. 4 Squadron was involved in this matter (Who served in Ops in the early 1990s, for example?), (b) whether other Harriers were flying in Scotland at that time, (c) whether anyone in No. 4 Squadron knows the Calvine incident’s true nature and the nature of the diamond-shaped craft, (d) and whether the identity/identities of the Harrier pilot(s) involved is/are known and can be revealed.
If this story is remotely true, and if pilots and aircraft from No. 4 Squadron were in some way involved, people must surely have spoken of it, perhaps in whispers or over a few beers, at some point in the last 31 years. Therefore, if anyone has any information whatsoever and would be willing to speak to me, I’d be extremely grateful to hear from them. They can speak anonymously or off the record if needs be, and I can call them at their convenience.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
We will organise a beer call in the Stamford area later in the year (probably the Autumn) and publicise it on fourfax.co.uk The committee will decide how much should be set aside to allow the website to continue, and the remainder will then be distributed between the HFA and the RAFBF.
Thanks to all that voted – see you at the beer call!
This email went out today (28 April 2021) to everyone in my records. Out of 805 emails, 140 bounced back as they are no longer in use. If you didn’t receive the email you may contact me at chr*s@fourf**.co.uk with your response. It would also be great if you could login to fourfax.co.uk (click on “Profile” on the left) and update your email address.
Dear All,
I started FourFax back in 1990 when I realised that IV(AC) Squadron didn’t have an official association. For the first few years the association was run as a paper newsletter from Hong Kong. Later on I started the website which has grown as a resource over the years with plenty of history, stories and photographs. We now have over 1,000 members recorded (although I know that many members don’t update their details unless there is a reunion coming up).
The Sqn is now at RAF Valley and is likely to remain there for many years. This makes it very difficult to organise reunions and include the Sqn.
The Harrier was withdrawn from service over ten years ago. The latest Sqn bosses have made little effort to support the Association and Hawk pilots have not signed up – they probably see us as a Harrier club.
The Harrier Force Association covers all Harrier Sqns and personnel, and organises reunions every two years (in normal times). The Harrier Engineer Annual Reunion (HEAR) also does great work in the Stamford area.
The committee has remained unchanged since we started – myself, Tony McKeon and Steve Cheeseman. We are now all retired and can see no future in continuing to run the Association as a vehicle for reunions. We do wish the website to continue to be maintained so that its valuable resources are preserved.
The Association has funds of approximately £4,000. The sum has gone up and down over the years – at the beginning I charged annual and lifetime membership to cover the costs of printing the physical newsletter and postage from Hong Kong. In later years, commercial sponsorship of the larger reunions has kept the bank balance healthy. We now have to decide what to do with these funds.
Our proposals are:
£200 be passed on to me so that the website expenses are covered for the foreseeable future.
A beer call is held in the Stamford area (once COVID rules permit) at no cost to the attendees.
A donation is made to the RAF Benevolent Fund.
A donation is made to the Harrier Force Association.
The Committee feels the distribution of funds requires your consideration and asks you to reply to this email with one of the following choices:
Beer call then remainder of the funds to RAFBF
Beer call then remainder of the funds to HFA
Beer call then remainder of the funds divided equally between the HFA & RAFBF
All funds to RAFBF (no beer call)
All funds to HFA (no beer call)
Funds divided equally between the RAFBF & HFA (no beer call)
Please select one option and reply to this email.
The committee also welcomes any suggestions or ideas that you might have.
Edit: This poll will close on Sunday 9 May.
Many thanks for your support over the last thirty years,
I am a writer researching the Harrier sales campaign to China, during the 1970s. On 11 December 1978, Flt lt Paddy Roberts, based at RAF Wittering flew a demonstration flight for a Chinese minister at BAe Dunsfold. During his demo there was a problem, which caused John Farley, the Chief Test Pilot at Dunsfold, to write to Paddy Roberts “I’m extremely sorry you had to suffer a fright, Paddy. and so glad you managed to sort it out without in being in the least apparent to watchers outside, that you had such a drama going on inside.”
I would be grateful if Mr Roberts would contact me to describe the background to events on 11 December 1978 tel 01428 729319
I’ve got no contact details for Paddy – can anybody help?
From David Herriot of the Buccaneer Aircrew Association:
You may have heard through the grapevine that all the Cold War jets are being evicted from Bruntingthorpe because the owner has leased the whole airfield for car storage. This meant that, until a new venue had been found, TBAG’s 2 fast taxy jets could have been destined for the scrap heap. The GOOD NEWS, however, is that just this week a new home has been announced for XW544 and XX894 at Kemble, where the jets can be relocated to and will have permission to continue with their maintenance, preservation and crowd pleasing activities. It will sustain the memory of our favourite aircraft for years to come.
The move to Kemble will cost something in the order of £25K and TBAG have created an on-line Crowdfunding appeal to assist them in achieving the sum required. They are a non-profit voluntary organisation that we have supported with ‘bodies’ at their Thunder Days.
If you are willing to support TBAG in their relocation to Kemble, please see the link below.
I’ve uploaded a document from the RAF Benevolent Fund describing their services. In case any of us are aware of someone who might benefit from some assistance from them…
Thanks to John White of The Hunter Register for this information.
I’m writing something (again) on the Harrier. I’ve done most of the text, including interviewing a Harrier pilot – Peter Sturt – nice guy. He did a tour on GR3 with 20 Sqn in Germany, then later became boss of the short-lived 216 Sqn on Buccaneers. What I’m looking for is to talk with a Harrier engineer, SENGO, JENGO, line engineer or whatever, for ‘the engineer’s view’ of the aircraft. With all your contacts, do you know anybody who might be willing to give me an hour or so to talk at some time before mid-January? All suggestions gratefully received.
Some of you might like to see the short ‘film’ (16 mins) in the link below provided by Joe Dible. Some interesting live footage (a lot of very clever CGI), plus quite a bit on the individuals involved – some of those are still on the register.
Giles Smith has sent me an email about Lt Playfair’s BE2a crash in 1913:
I have been researching the former WW1 airfield at Lilbourne for a while now and would comment that, whilst the first paragraph is mainly about the vagaries of the Breguet aircraft, the crash involving Chinnery and Playfair was in a type BE2a aircraft serial no. 227 with 70 hp Renault engine and occurred in mid afternoon of the first day of the 1913 Army Manoeuvres – 22 September 1913 – in fields at Lilbourne across the A5 Watling Street from the temporary aeroplane base at Hillmorton, east of Rugby. Playfair was taken to St Cross Hospital in Rugby and was still there at the end of the week when visited by his colleagues.
There is a picture of the wrecked ‘plane in J.M.Bruce’s book ‘Britain’s First Warplanes and an article with pictures in the Rugby Advertiser of 27th September 1913.
I hope that this will suffice for now as I’m collecting loads of info about the men and aeroplanes involved with photos and the concluding reports of the RFC in 1913 Army Manoeuvres with a view to writing an article. Giles Smith……Lilbourne
Joe Bartrop (project co-ordinator, RAF Commemorative Window Scampton Church)
As we approach Remembrance Day, I have been advised write to you, and ask for your support to share this tribute with your members, some of whom may have served at RAF Scampton.
The Ministry of Defence have announced that they intend to decommission RAF Scampton in 2022. Whether this happens or not, a project to commission a stunning RAF stained glass window at Scampton Church to mark 100 years’ relationship between RAF Scampton and Scampton Church (1918 – 2018), and thereby also create a lasting memory to all who served in squadrons at the base, both in peacetime, during the two world wars and the cold war, is now up and running.
RAF and aviation organisations have agreed to be non-funding community partners in the project.
Two well respected stained glass designers, with an impressive portfolio, have designed the RAF Scampton window. The RAF Scampton badge forms a central part of that design, alongside the winged RAF badge (per ardva ad astra) which sits proudly on the 106 RAF Commonwealth War Graves in the churchyard.
The inscription on the window, chosen by Wing Commander Parker OIC at RAF Scampton, will read:
“To commemorate those who served in squadrons based at RAF Scampton 1918 – 2018”
The design includes a representation of an Avro Lancaster, Avro Vulcan and the Red Arrows Hawk Jets in a diamond nine formation, all depicted flying over the runway at RAF Scampton.
Also included in the initiative is an associated aviation arts project in Scampton’s two local primary schools to which children of RAF families attend. The aim of the project is to teach the history of RAF Scampton and help teach children of the sacrifice given by others to ensure they live in a free country.
Filming for the first crowd funding video was carried out by Lincoln University and is now complete, and heads the campaign site.
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rafwindow
The film includes contributions from Wing Commander Parker (OIC RAF Scampton), Wing Commander Keith (OIC RAFAT – Red Arrows) Johnny Johnson (Last surviving member of the original 617 Squadron) and Bill Ramsey (Wing Commander Red Arrows, BBMF and Vulcan pilot)
Aviation sponsors have donated to a ’thank you’ scheme which rewards contributions towards the RAF window with original prizes.
A second video focus more on the historical links between RAF Scampton and Scampton Church, and a final Remembrance Day video is due for release on 11th October.
Your support in circulating this meaningful commemorative tribute to your members, some of who may have served at RAF Scampton, would greatly increase the project’s chance of success.
(Please see below – circulated on Nigel Walpole’s behalf – please respond directly to him)
The heritage hunters of No. 234 Squadron (No. 1 Squadron, 229 OCU, RAF Chivenor) wish to publish a booklet of flight-line humour, ‘horror’ and achievement, entitled ‘Laugh with the Dragon’, modelled on those excellent books ,’Out of the Blue’ (Cowie, Jones & Long), and I have agreed to be the scribe and general factotum.
Terry Heyes, who gave us those splendid dragon cartoons for our squadron history ‘Dragon Rampant’, has offered his support again, but the success of this project depends now in what we can wrest from our ageing memories, and for obvious reasons we have no time to lose. We will of course plagiarise ‘Dragon Rampant’, but we know there are many other tales out there to tell.
So we would be very grateful for any such inputs from those who served on, or passed through 234 Squadron on IRE, FR, Pre-Lightning/ Buccaneer/Harrier/Jaguar/FAC courses, etc. These tales need not be confined to those occurring solely on the squadron, we also want to include others which happened to us old boys of 234 in later years. Also, while ‘facts’ are to be preferred, some fiction could be made very acceptable if suitably phrased. We have in mind anything from a single sentence to a 300 words and, while we must retain the right to reject or amend, nothing of yours would go to press without your blessing.
We therefore urge you to bare your souls now, drag out those anecdotes which have been enjoyed repeatedly in many bars over the years, so that we can record them for posterity.
A similar plea has gone out to the Sabre and Hawk fraternities, and I now hope impatiently for your positive responses to nigel@kermont.plus.com; 01502-723371.
The Royal Air Force Museum is delighted to invite current and former RAF men and women of every rank, trade and from across all aspects of its daily mission, to join us for our RAF Day 2019 to be held at Hendon on Wednesday 8 May, from 10am to 4pm. The Event will be held in our Age of Uncertainty Hall – 1980 to Today – providing a fitting space for colleagues, friends and families to join us and share their stories, before exploring the rest of the Museum which covers The RAF’s First 100 Years. The RAF Day will enable us to sustain and develop an enduring relationship with The RAF – its People, Squadrons, Bases and the wider RAF Family. As part of our RAF Centenary programme, the Museum launched a new digital project called RAF Stories which aims to record a wide variety of stories about the Royal Air Force. Our RAF Stories team will be on hand on the day to provide information on how your story could be included in our online archive and welcomes stories from anyone about any aspect of their career or experiences within or surrounding the Royal Air Force. This invitation is open to all current and former RAF colleagues of every rank and across all aspects of its work, and we do hope you will be able to attend. We look forward to welcoming you in May and ask that you register your interest by contacting Anji Patel or Odette Harris via email on groups@rafmuseum.org or 020 8358 4849. As the event proved to be popular last year, and to enable us to ensure we have sufficient car parking spaces for all our visitors, we are asking our guests to also confirm how they intend to travel on the day. Maggie Appleton Chief Executive Officer RAF Museum
Maggie Appleton Chief Executive Officer RAF Museum
An interesting time for the UK as Brexit rears its head. Regardless of the way in which one voted, one can be assured that this country will be consumed by a determined effort to confirm or rather re-define our identity as a nation.
After the Sqn split earlier in the calendar year, much the same can be said about IV(AC) Sqn. We have now weathered the incessant noise produced by the formation of XXV(FE) Sqn, maybe the only formation they’ve managed to achieve in recent months, and as such have been able to confirm and re-define our identity here at IV(AC).
The effort that has gone in to reforming and modernising the air to surface combat work-up, ongoing work on a more efficient radar interception training process, and the recently started development of more effective air combat tactics are all indicators that IV(AC) Sqn have the calibre of staff that define fighter pilot training, not least carry out a successful taxy and brakes check without popping the tyres.
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