(Pages 4-12) plus ..
and Fireflys, also a few Wyverns but had the occasional unusual aircraft such as a Blackburn Roc. The captain of the station cricket team, for which I played, was one of the test pilots; he knew I had been a F.A.A. aircrew “Y” scheme candidate and he twice took me up in the Observer’s cockpit of a Firefly for a final test flight.
In 1950 I went to India to work in the U.K. Trade Commission in Delhi and in a few
days met the girl who turned out to be my future wife. This was on the Delhi Gymkhana Club Tennis Courts on Gill’s 21st birthday! On 30th July 1954 I married Gillian Mary Harnden. I was transferred to Admiralty Supply Departments, specialised in Armaments for a few years before the organisation became the R.N. Supply and Transport Service. In 1956 I started out on a 3 year tour of duty in Mombasa, Kenya where all our spare leave and week-ends were spent safariing - as far afield as Victoria Falls in what is now Zimbabwe. On return to U.K. we started our family and brought up 3 children, each of whom, in turn, married and had families of their own. We now have 6 lovely grandchildren.
Regressing a bit, being employed in the Admiralty (later M.O.D. (Navy)) we tended to be moved around a lot - usually every 3 years. This isn’t always very easy with 3 children to worry about, but sometimes it has its rewards like being posted to Singapore for 3 years from 1966 to 1969. From there we went to bonny Scotland (what a climate change that was) for 2½ years, next down to Plymouth for 8 years during which time I had 3 separate appointments including to the old Royal Fleet Auxiliary “Resurgent” for a period of 20 months. While based at Rosyth we traveled round a lot, twice to the west coast of America/Canada, transiting the Panama canal, Bermuda, Finland, Hamburg and so on. On 2 occasions Gill was able to accompany me, once to the Baltic where we had a splendid time in Helsinki and on another, shorter period, to Hamburg.
In 1950 I went to India to work in the U.K. Trade Commission in Delhi and in a few
days met the girl who turned out to be my future wife. This was on the Delhi Gymkhana Club Tennis Courts on Gill’s 21st birthday! On 30th July 1954 I married Gillian Mary Harnden. I was transferred to Admiralty Supply Departments, specialised in Armaments for a few years before the organisation became the R.N. Supply and Transport Service. In 1956 I started out on a 3 year tour of duty in Mombasa, Kenya where all our spare leave and week-
Regressing a bit, being employed in the Admiralty (later M.O.D. (Navy)) we tended to be moved around a lot -
11
Gloucestershire COPE Family Site.
My COPE FAMILY (continued). (Page 8 of 9)
(Below) Our Xmas card depicting a pen and ink sketch of R.F.A. “Resurgent” an Armaments Replenishment ship. (Left) Our 8 month old Wolseley 1500 transitting a 5 mile stretch of rocky track north west of Nairobi in Kenya on our way back from a 2 week holiday.