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There are many tales of Squadron life to be told about this time, mostly short vignettes. Here then are just a few!

FRANK CAREY

One day whilst Connie was driving around the perimeter on the way to the Chinese National Airways Corporation canteen to sample their delicious scrambled eggs they noticed Frank Carey’s aircraft taxying in and went across to say hullo. The Hurricane was an extraordinary sight: the leading wing edges were dented and distorted and green stains ran from them over and under the wing surfaces. He had taken Bill Storey as his No 2 to Cox’s Bazaar a dirt strip on the Indo-Burmese border, abandoned in the retreat and finding it unoccupied decided to land. One wheel ran into a soft patch and he was stuck! He waved his wingman away and single-handed manages to dig himself out only to find as he was getting back into the cockpit, that a formation of Oscars was approaching. Forced to take off without strapping in, he took off and literally flew for his life and one Oscar after another took it it turns to attack him. By brilliant evasive low flying he escaped and in doing so caused one Oscar to crash into the ground. The new green decoration added to the paintwork was acquired as he struck treetops and bushes in his masterly evasion. He was a most brilliant pilot and a quietly spoken, modest man held in the highest regard by all the pilots who knew him…

FUGEE (DEREK FUGE) AND THE C IN C’S INSPECTION

For some unknown and detested reason the regulations governing the conduct of Air Forces in India stipulated that all ranks would at all times wear sun helmets or topees. This was indeed the everyday wear for the groundcrew but the aircrew of course, liked to be different! They tended to wear their blue Service Dress peaked caps or their forage caps and were understandably cross when told to wear topees for the forthcoming inspection by the Commander-in-Chief. Some had thrown their issue hats away, others had bought ultra-smart headpieces in Karachi or Calcutta. The Woodpeckers decided without telling the CO that they would wear as motley a collection as they could muster for this event!

The C-in-C, Sir Guy Garrod was a man with a keen sense of humour and particularly admired the model sported by Fuggy — a General Wolseley of the 1880s inscribed in large letters ‘FIRE CHIEF.’

SPECTACULAR FLYING ACCIDENTS!

One day a young Flying Officer from the PRU team locally known as ‘Shocker’ carried out an unauthorized beatup of his squadron area and mistakenly flew into his hangar! When his CO arrived he was greeted by the crestfallen pilot by ‘Good Morning Sir, MR B, FORMERLY Flying Officer..’ He was known to be a smooth talker and quite unscrupulous. One night he was spotted in the 300 Club in Calcutta and was seen to have awarded himself a DFC ribbon and Flight Lieutenant’s braid! When taxes by the Woodpeckers he reputedly said it gave him a head start with women!!

The second accident involved Freddie Proctor whom they had converted to the Hurricane. Taking off one morning fully laden bound for a sortie over Burma, he was soon in trouble as his engine was missing badly as he flew past the dispersal with his wheels still down. The Woodpeckers tried to give him unheard advice, urging him to land but instead he elected to try to get back to the main runway from which he had just taken off. It was an impossible task; a heavily laden aircraft with failing engine and insufficient height to glide in meant that he struck the undershoot. To their horror the aircraft cartwheeled and somersaulted, shedding wings, tail wheels and fuselage until it was all scattered over several hundred yards. The cockpit remained upright. In it, strapped in and unhurt and laughing immoderately was Freddie! You can imagine how he enjoyed his drinks that evening!

In October 1942 Barney Banikhin who had joined the Squadron in the Middle East and had been with Connie in Ceylon, flew into the ground whilst carrying out practice attacks and was killed instantly. Not so poor Thomas Taggart Young, a charming young American also from the Ceylon detachment, who hit a tree in the same area about a month later on the same task. He was very badly injured and died a few days later...

Biff Viens, a French Canadian was nearly lost in another way. The Woodpeckers on readiness were sitting upstairs in the shade and for something to do, Connie’s good friend Eric Brown was cleaning his revolver. He reloaded it, and without thinking pressed the trigger. The bullet ricocheted from the stone floor and burned the back of Bif’s neck where he sat quietly reading. Eric jumped up, louding demanding to be put under arrest for his stupidity. Bif’s reaction was splendid: he did not even rise from his chair!!

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