大象传媒

After a short spell at Fairford many of us were posted to RAF Easton Lodge, nr Gt Dunmow, Essex it was there I was to learn much of the history of my native county. Like many others of the period I developed an interest in the Labour Party and what better place could be found than at Easton Lodge, for it was there that the famous Countess of Warwick held her court, attended by radicals of the period, such as HG Wells , Bernard Shaw, the Webbs and the Crown Prince. They were just some of the galaxy of political stars who enjoyed the hospitality of the beautiful countryside. Sadly the future of Easton Lodge was brought to an abrupt end soon after the war ended as the mansion was gutted by fire.
A tragedy in my view for it was here that much of the pre-war socialist thinking originated and perhaps it was not a coincidence that many of the nation鈥檚 intellectuals lived in the neighbourhood such as Gustav Holst the composer. Another local oddity was the nearby small town of Thaxted, where it was said the living of the beautiful massive church had to be held by a clergyman with left wing views. During our stay such was the case and recent clergy have lived up to that criteria and it was quite common to see a liberal supply of communist literature on the church sales table, such was the influence of the Countess in the area.

So to Easton Lodge, we arrived at the local railway station, on a line which did not survive the Beeching cuts, one might wonder why the Easton Lodge station existed, but when one saw the massive entrance gates to the Lodge Estate, which were opposite to the station, one could well imagine tht lords and ladies of the period disembarking at the station and in a coach and four graciously making their way through the forest to the mansion.
On arriving our first reaction was the stark realities of an American base which contrary to general belief the standards were way below those enjoyed by the RAF, so much so that the newly appointed Group Capt G.C. McIntyre immediately ordered major improvements.. The group captain was an extraordinary man and many of the new arrivals had served under Mac on other stations. By all accounts he was highly respected, but woe betide any offender who came before him, which was rarely needed.
In a matter of days thousands of RAF personnel arrived on the station and the Yanks left, soon to be followed by squadrons of Horsa Gliders and Stirling aircraft the former bomber converted to the role of towing gliders, my original thought was that the towing aircraft were Lancaster鈥檚 but years on I learnt I had got it wrong my memory was playing tricks. The organisation was extremely efficient especially when in the year 2000 we consider the aids available, and we had a war on in those days.

The days were long but never dull and none of the usual red tape and 鈥淏ull鈥� was at a minimum and unlike our predecessors, the main gates were never manned.. Inspections were unheard of and work was priority, even pass outs were not required, but self discipline was evident and few overstayed their leave.

The Glider UNITS were organised in Echelons No 3 & 4, supervised by warrant officers and once again the anomaly was apparent, both were pre-war vintage and one was a qualified engine fitter, just the ticket for the engineless gliders, but the pre-war geriatrics had to be posted somewhere.

RAF Easton Lodge was unique as an RAF station, morale was high due to a Group Captain who insisted the men should be treated as men and their welfare was paramount. It paid handsome dividends as the personnel would do anything asked of them and never a complaint.
One typical example was that when we arrived the cinema used by the Americans was to say the least a lash up, soon Mac was commandeering cinema seats from a bombed out cinema, and with the aid of volunteer labour and the use of aircraft packing cases, a cinema with a sloping floor was in operation within a week.

Another incident took place when we arrived, no papers were being delivered on the site. That was altered as was the toilet facilities enjoyed by the Yanks, for we found them to be in a brick building, having rows of toilet seats with no privacy whatsoever. 鈥楳ac鈥� decreed that was not acceptable and they were replaced immediately.

In the normal course of events one finds the person responsible, recruits in his own image, 鈥楳ac was no exception as was the case of the Medical Officer, one Dr.Greenbaum of the Jewish faith. The doctor was an absolute stickler when it came to cleanliness, for all those attending the surgery had to remove their shoes, to soil the shining lino was out of the question. Just to prove he was consistent he regularly attended the canteen unannounced, where he would question the airmen re:- the virtues of the meat provided, on one occasion he was heard to say when questioning the quality of the tea 鈥� It looks like piss to me鈥� and it has to be said his voice brought results, for the tables were supplied with cloths and the windows with curtains.

By chance I had a few days in the sick bay, for one morning I was rudely awaked by one of the geriatrics. I promptly retaliated by reporting sick at the sick bay where I was found to have a high temperature. I must say the ensuing days in the 鈥榟ospital鈥� were extremely pleasant and it got me out of the clutches of the W.O.
Easton Lodge for me was the most rewarding of my modest R.A.F. career, we worked hard and long hours and spent many a night sleeping in the gliders during windy nights, for given high winds they were liable to take off, due to a design feature to give maximum lift.

Flying gliders is worth a mention, for many of the ground staff had clocked up numerous hours, I had not been so lucky, but I eventually managed a flight in a Horsa Glider, being detailed to rescue a glider which was down in a field some miles away. With a couple of men I awaited our towing plane and safely landed we hooked up, threw our gear aboard and took our places. I must say it鈥檚 a wonderful feeling, so different to flying in a powerful aircraft, it can only be described as having an intimate relationship with nature, apart from the hiss of air, complete silence, relying on nature鈥檚 air currants to keep airborne, minus parachutes of course which would have been useless anyway. Duly arriving near Easton Lodge the towing craft released the glider, then our pilot put the nose down aand we hung on standing up until he levelled out. A wonderful experience never to be forgotten.

Life was never dull and I recall one incident relating to our sgt, one sergeant Samuels. Now Sammy had warned me he might be going to Bishops Stortford, despite the fact that he was duty sergeant. He knew that I would cover for him and how, little did he realise what was in store. Night came and with it a gale warning and I had the task of getting the duty crew together out on to the perimeter of the airfield. Suitably attired the men were soon on their way, travelling on the back of the converted Crossley vehicles which were used to tow gliders.

The night was pitch black and the gales lashed us relentlessly, on our arrival at the glider storage areas we were met by an appalling sight of gliders trying to break free, and to say the least it was frightening for the men who wrestled with their charges to get them facing the wind and repicketed.
During all this time repeated calls were coming from the control tower for Sgt. Samuels, but no one revealed his absence and as the night wore on a bedraggled crew made their way back to a complimentary breakfast and a well earned sleep.

The next morning we learnt that Sgt.Samuels had been summoned to the Wing Commander鈥檚 office, and we feared the worst for Sammy was well liked. We needn鈥檛 have worried for to our amazement he returned all smiles having been congratulated for a splendid night鈥檚 work. Sammy remarked that he would not be surprised if he got a commendation, and in fact we would not have been surprised for stranger things happened in the R.A.F.

The following winter we strived to keep our huts warm, for Nissen huts were obviously designed to keep the outside environment warm, for the insulation was virtually nil. We scrounged anything we could find that burned, we even modified the stove so when it was full bore it glowed like a fireball, absolutely lethal, and of course the greater the heat greater the consumption, so desperate measures were called for.
Operation Coal Compound, which took the form of a raid on the compound, so on a suitably foggy night several of us went over the wire. All went well until we realised we were not alone and then in the gloom of the fog we recognised the Ser ice Police, they too were on a similar exercise, so we beat a hasty retreat and went back over the wire.

The summer of 44 saw even greater activity, for thousands of army personnel arrived on the airfield and the gliders were marshalled ready for the off, the equipment was loaded aboard and last of all the men. Slowly the Stirling aircraft were hooked up and in the early hours of the dawn they left for the unknown.

Historic moments indeed, not perhaps in true Hollywood style. The men were only human and they had too had nerves and not a few had digestive problems. Many left and many never returned, and Britain lost many of its favourite sons. The Airborne Divisions were some of the Army鈥檚 finest soldiers and it was during the takeoff I witnessed an incident typical of the Division. It appeared that soon after the takeoff a glider had been cast off from the Stirling towing craft, and the glider pilot was forced to land a mile or so away, and there to our amazement we saw the army sergeant in charge, marching his men across the fields to board a reserve glider.

From then on it was routine supply work and we waited anxiously for the news that Germany had collapsed, by February Hitler was all but defeated and with the defeat of Japan we realised that at last the war was over. It had been a long 鈥榪uick war. From then on life at RAF Easton Lodge became unrealistic, every one was anxious to join their families and naturally the authorities were anxious to avoid an unholy rush, so orderly it had to be.

It was then decided that Educational Vocational classes were needed, we also formed a cricket team of which I was a member, then as a grand gesture it was decided to have a Peace Celebration on the station which was to take the form of a Sports Day, to be followed in the evening by Felix Mendleson鈥檚 Hawain band, all this was arranged by Group Captain Mcintyre.

Alas just before the event 鈥楳ac鈥� was posted and a new GP Captain arrived, however on the day to everyone鈥檚 delight, 鈥楳ac鈥� arrived and mounted the stage set up in a Hanger, the applause was terrific the cry went up 鈥榳e want Groupie鈥� then amid the applause 鈥楳ac鈥� replied in a suitable manner and all vestige of protocol was abandoned. So Man the man was truly honoured a fitting tribute to one of the most capable and popular GC鈥檚 in the RAF.

Easton Lodge has many pleasant memories for me and I made several life long friends I name but a few 鈥� Woggy Wogan of the Tow Rope Dept the Bookmakers fried Brooks from Coalville 鈥楾inny鈥� Harisson of Wolverhampton Football Club, whose career was cur short having strained his heart during cycle road racing. But one of my most cherished friendships was with a native of Chester le Street, one Bob Everett a pre war bus conductor, Bob trained to be a teacher he rose to become a deputy head of a Primary School.

One less personal acquaintance was the post war TV celebrity Pete Murray who at the time was a radio mechanic in Echelon No 3, having read his auto biography and his comments on his stay at Easton Lodge, I must beg to differ. Finally I refer to my late friend Bill Littlewood, formally a Technical Officer at the Scotland Yard, he encouraged me to further my post war career, regrettably Bill passed away on his farm in Sussex having retired early to realise a life long ambition.

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