What's Happening!

REUNIONS

10th Riggers' Reunion.
RAF Henlow WO & Sgts Mess.
27th October 2018.

The reunion began on the evening of the 26th October when the advance party of riggers who were staying in the mess accommodation assembled in the Mess Bar. I'm told a very lively evening ensued.
The main event commenced on Saturday evening when the Free bar opened at 19-00hrs. The background music organised by Dave Crooks on mess television set-up was interrupted for a while so everyone could view the spectacular topping out of the temporary mast built at Emley Moor. The final lift was filmed by Terry Eckersley and he brought along the film on a memory stick. Unfortunately, much of what Terry had to say was drowned out by everyone greeting old friends and enjoying themselves. The temporary mast was built to carry some of the TV transmission aerials to enable work to be carried out on the main concrete mast without shutting down any of the TV Channels. It will be dismantled once all the work on the concrete mast is completed.
Once everyone had settled down I made a brief speech welcoming everyone to the reunion and passed on a number of apologies from riggers who could not attend, including one from Geoff Gard who also donated £100 to the free bar fund. I read out a letter from Pat Challis's wife Beryl, daughter Zoe and son Kieran which included a cheque for £150. The letter stated, please use a proportion of the amount for expences involved in sending out the newsletter (stamps, envelopes etc) and the remainder to go behind the bar. We were also thanked for the floral tribute sent to his funeral. I then asked everyone to prepare themselves for a Toast. Before the actual toast I pointed out that since the School was founded in 1950 there had been only four riggers who had died while working on a rigging job. Eric "Eddie" Rockett at RAF Edlesborough on the 15th August 1958, Johnnie O'Toole at RAF Changi, Singapore on the 20th December 1961, Dennis "Billy" Bowes at RAF North Front, Gibraltar on the 15th December 1969 and Ken Shakespeare at RAF Masirah on the 21st October 1971. Sadly, we now have to add another name to the list. Scott McGillray at RAF Saxa Vord a few weeks ago.
Everyone raised their glass to "Absent Riggers wherever they may be."
Shortly after the toast the buffet opened and everyone was served with the excellent meals of their choice. At the same time Dave Crooks and Smithy were going around the mess selling raffle tickets for a number of donated prizes in aid of the Update. The money was raised to purchase stationary, stamps and printing ink to print out copies of the Updates which are then sent out to the 160 members who do not have e-mail facilities and to pay for our website space. In all some £340 was raised by the raffle.
My thanks to all who contributed.
The surplus cash from everyone's attendance fee, once all the bills were paid, was meant to be used for twofers at the bar. Thanks to the various donations sent in to go behind the bar including several riggers who had to drop out at the last minute and did not want their money refunded, it was decided to run a free bar until the money ran out.
The Free Bar lasted all evening and left us with £210 still in the kitty.
Although numbers were down on previous reunions I think everyone who attended will agree it was a very successful evening due in a large part to the brilliant organising of the in-house accommodation and catering by Darren Smith and Dave Crooks.
A BIG THANK YOU also to the Mess Staff.
There was an extra bonus after the Reunion. A bit of wheeler dealing by Darren resulted in the Mess Manager reducing our food bill to just over £5 per head giving a further surplus of £140. This has been added to the £210 remaining from the Free Bar Kitty thus the reunion giving us a total surplus of £350. This money has been put into the bank account passbook and is ring fenced and will go behind the bar at the next riggers reunion.
Ps.
I cannot guarantee that everyone who stays overnight after a reunion will be served breakfast in the Officers Mess.

2nd Riggers' Dining in Night.
RAF Henlow WO & Sgts Mess.
Saturday 29th April 2017.

Those of you who could not make it, missed out on a great evening.

Some 86 guests attended the event which was superbly organised by Darren Smith and his team.
The bar opened promptly at 19-00hrs and everyone sat down to dine at 19-30hrs.

The food was fabulous, the mess catering staff really pulled out all the stops and got the evening off to a flying start.

Everyone had a really great evening, enjoying the FREE bar and meeting up with old friends and comrades.

9th REUNION 17th OCTOBER 2015.
WO's and Sgts Mess, RAF Digby.

The excellent reunion was organised by Flt Sgt John Summerson assisted by Sgt Rob Hall.

The event commenced at 11-30hrs when everyone who had booked for the afternoon visit to the Aerial Erector School was picked up by the mini-bus for the journey to RAF Digby.

On arrival at RAF Digby we were taken to the Aerial Erector School and after a very warm welcome from Flt Sgt John Summerson we were taken to the Sector Operations Bunker.

In the underground Operations Rooms, now a museum, we were given a good comprehensive history of the building and especially the part it had played during the Battle of Britain. We were then given time to explore the various rooms and exhibits in them with school staff on hand to provide explanations where needed.
It was then back to the school buildings to explore the various classrooms and workshops. Refreshments in the form of tea, coffee and a very tasty selection of biscuits were laid out in the rest room.

Next it was off once again in the mini-bus to Stenigot for our visit to THE tower. The school staff, who had kindly given up some of their off duty time, showed us the latest safety equipment riggers use now and then gave a demonstration of the latest tower rescue methods. They also demonstrated the various tasks that potential trainees now have to undertake to aquire a place on a course.

Those of us who wished to do so were then kitted out with a full safety harness and helmet and then UNOFFICIALLY allowed to climb under strict supervision, up the ladders to the 50/60ft platform.
A new and interesting development since our last visit to Stenigot was a very elaborate safety gate fitted to the bottom section of the first ladder. This had been installed to prevent and/or deter trespassing climbers from accessing the tower. Apparently there had been a number of nocturnal visitors using the tower for dare-devil free climbing exercises which had resulted in the police being called to the site.

There were a lot of very happy smiling old hairys up on that platform including myself. Once all the photographs were taken and everyone had returned safely to the ground we were all de-kitted. Hot drinks were on hand to warm everyone up, the Lincolnshire wind having lived up to its reputation. We were then loaded back into the mini-bus for the return trip to Lincoln. We had had a very enjoyable excursion which had been superbly organised by the school staff. We arrived back in Lincoln and were dropped off at our hotels in plenty of time to prepare for the evening event.

We were all gathered up from our various hotels by a large Double Deck Luxury coach and issued with our security passes on our way to Digby. On arrival our coach was too tall to enter the camp because of the low trees so we were de-bused outside the Guardroom. We were then led to a small gate in the fence and along a short path to the WO AND Sgts Mess.
The mess lounge and dining room had been decorated by the school staff with large photographs of riggers and various overseas places plus a variety of items from the schools collection of memorabilia.

In the dining room the tables were laid out with candelabra, bottles of wine and special place mats depicting riggers and rigging scenes. There was a specially made HAR pin stick and an RAF biro pen for each guest.
In no time at all the bar was in full swing and everyone was busy greeting friends old and new. Lee Hennah had come over from Rozendaal in Holland. John Lunn and Joe Watson came over from the colonies in North America, Ohio and California respectively. It seemed that we had hardly got there when the call came to take our places in the dining room.

The tables were served by the mess staff at the servery two tables at a time. The food was magnificent and I had a helping of something I haven't had since my school dinner days, sweet red cabbage, it was absolutely gorgeous. Thanks very much, it made my day.
A raffle of a number of donated prizes to raise money for the Stamps and Printing Ink Fund was held following the various toasts. I had brought two books of raffle tickets with thinking that would be enough. I was wrong and we ran out of raffle tickets so not everyone was able to try their luck. It raised some £150 which has now been converted into 2nd class stamps.
All too soon it was time to board the bus back to our hotels to sleep it all off. We had an absolutely wonderful evening. The company had been great and the food marvellous.
A brilliantly well organised and superbly presented 9th Reunion. The amount of time and effort put into this reunion by all the school staff was obviously enormous. Everyone at the school seemed to have played a part in making sure everything went off smoothly. even the trainees on the current Further Training Course had, as one of them put it been "voluntold" to assist over the weekend.

THANK YOU ALL.

Riggers Dining in Night Saturday 3rd May 2014.
WO & Sgts Mess, RAF Henlow.

This event, organised by WO Darren Smith, was a formal Dining in Night. Invitation had been extended to all Riggers, past and present and their wives/partners.
Dress was formal; ie. No 5's(or No1's) for serving members, Dinner Jacket and black bow tie for civilians and formal evening wear or cocktail dress (below the knee) for ladies.
As it is was a formal dinner medals were worn.The meal was a seven course, silver service affair.

Darren "Smithy" Smith reports that "On Saturday 3rd May 2014, for the first time ever, 113 hairy arsed riggers and their partners, made their way to RAF Henlow WO & Sgts Mess to enjoy the delights of a formal 7 course Dining In Night. Dressed to the nines in their full Mess Uniform or Dinner Jackets, the lads were put to shame by the ladies who looked simply stunning in their flowing dresses and killer heels.
The festivities had started the night before for many, with approximately 30 of us deciding to make a weekend of it and travelling down on the Friday.
The Saturday was free for people to do what they wanted with many choosing to go shopping, some relaxing in their rooms and some enjoying a game of golf. Some things don't change in that regard with George Burrell, not for the first time, proving he is the King of the Sombrero! Some obviously didn't think a bar from 18:00 until 03:00hrs was enough mind, choosing to spend the full afternoon enjoying a few warm up shandy's in the "spit and sawdust" tavern that is the Bird in Hand.
The Dining in Night itself commenced at 18:00hrs, and although many of us hadn't seen each other for numerous years (many never at all) it wasn't long before the banter started and that "family" feeling returned.
The first challenge of the evening was to try and get a group photograph. And what a challenge this proved to be! Never known for our intelligence, trying to get a bunch of riggers to march to the same tune has never been easy, trying to get 113 of them to pick up a chair and congregate outside was nigh impossible. Flt Sgt Jim O'Donnell's leadership skills were put to the test on this one. Well done Jim, I'm sure you will all agree he did a fabulous job.

The photograph above can be seen below where it has been split into 4 sections which slightly overlap and run from left to right.

As our Maitre D for the evening, Mrs Claire Ferrante called us all to the dining room at 19:30hrs, the term "sardines in a tin" immediately sprang to mind. The most the mess had ever squeezed inti the dining room before was 92. I admit, we had plenty of room on the Top Table but it did look extremely cosy down each leg. So cosy in fact that with his bladder full to bursting, the only way Ray Hobbs could go for a comfort break was by crawling under the table, smacking his head on the spool underneath before coming out at the other end. Now Ray is not as supple as once was and by the time he came out the other side, our main course had cooled considerably!
Having to feed 113 people, with approximately 10 inches between chairs proved to be a major challenge for the staff; and at this point a huge gratitude of thanks and congratulations must go their way for meeting that challenge head on and delivering.
The food was absolutely delicous and proved that once again RAF Henlow WO & Sgts Mess staff are second to none. Well done to Claire and her team.
Having done CMC at Leuchars for 9 months and having been CMC at Henlow for 7 months, I have presided over numerous Top Tables and Dining In Nights - however I had never presided over a "Riggers" Dining In Night before.....it proved interesting to say the least. As for Mr Vice (Flt Sgt Phil Major) keeping order down the bottom end, well the phrase "ashtray on a motorbike" springs to mind. However praise must go his way for ditching his 15 year old jokes and unearthing some new material to entertain us with. Well done Phil.
It would have been remiss not to mention our senior member of the evening Mr Raymond Mortenson. Ray was called up into the RAF in the summer of 1953 and following his square bashing arrived at RAF Chigwell as a u/t Aerial Erector on the 28th August 1953. He successfully completed his training on Course 3C and was posted to No3 Ground Radio Servicing Squadron at RAF Norton for the remainder of his National Service. After a brief recital of his career from Ray himself, the whole room stood as one and raised their glass to toast a most remarkable man.
Somehow we managed to get through the meal and finally retired to the bar at approximately 23:30 hrs.
Those sensible, mature individuals decided to have a swift drink before calling it a night---the more foolish amongst us decided that we hadn't had enough to drink and carried on until about 04:00hrs in the morning----with many a sandbag being pulled up and talk of "the good old days" and "back in my day" ringing out.
The weekend still hadsn't finished there, with about 60 of us taking up Claire's extremely kind offer of a full English breakfast at 09:00hrs on Sunday morning.
Considering everyone had looked a million dollars the night before, the transformation was incredible---from lords and ladies to peasants in only 12 hours was no mean feat, but was amazingly achieved by all.
Looking back, an absolutely fantastic evening was enjoyed by everyone; and the most telling aspect of the entire evening was that it doesn't matter how long riggers haven't seen each other for, indeed it doesn't matter if they've never seen each other before; that unique bond that riggers have is still well and as strong as ever.
As everyone went their separate ways and travelled north and south on the A1, each and every person present agreed that it had been a hugely successful event, and one that must be repeated in the future. To those who did not make it this time----be sure to make the next one. Until the next time, take care and stay safe, Smithy.

Thanks Smithy for your report and for organising an absolutely amazing evening. Roll on the next one, Eddie.

A view of some of the members from the 50ft Platform.

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6th Reunion   13th October  2007.   Sergeant's Mess,  RAF Henlow.

The Reunion started at the RAF Signals Museum, the Curator Alf Fisher and a number of volunteers who run the museum gave up their Saturday afternoon to open up the building and welcome us in.
About 45 people paid a visit to view the exhibits on display and to exchange information about the various items of equipment. There was a lot of lamp swinging going on all afternoon as people's memories were kicked into play by the sight of the static displays.Sadly the museum does not have very much by way of aerials etc. It would be nice to see a couple of aerials and masts etc erected on the grass outside the museum. Alf and his merry men have done a superb job with the limited funds at their disposal.
When one stood outside the museum and looked around it was amazing to see how much of the Henlow which we had all known had disappeared under the attentions of the bulldozers and the scrap merchants. The railway lines have gone, all the wooden huts we knew so well have disappeared, the large hangars are no longer there and many of the other temporarily permanent buildings have finally vanished. But I have to admit it does look a lot nicer now, even the grass seems greener.
The evening got started with the free bar opening at 18-30hrs and everyone poured in. The mess was beautifully laid out, with tables set ready for the buffet and we had full use of the function room as well as the bar and the dining room.
The buffet was, in my opinion, the best buffet we have ever had at any of the reunions held so far. Everyone I spoke to was full of praise for the food. The mess catering staff really did us proud.
Unfortunately the music man was unable to attend due to another engagement but he had left the equipment out for us to use. Eddie Bellamy set it up with some background music for us and I don't think anyone missed the exercise period. They were all too busy talking and lamp swinging to do any dancing.

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5th Reunion September 2005, Lincoln University.

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4th Reunion September 2003.

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3rd Reunion November 2001

Held at the Royal Armouries Museum Leeds where 160 people had a lively evening.

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2nd Reunion November 1999

Held in the Halifax Room at the Yorkshire Air Museum where 149 attended.

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1st Reunion November 1997

This was the first Re-union held by the association and took place in the Halifax Room, Yorkshire Air Museum near York (Ex R.A.F. Elvington).

Some of the congregation.

Still more of the congregation.

123 riggers plus wives, girlfriends, live-in lovers etc. had a fantastic evening.

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