Royal Air Force Greatworth

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I propose Wednesday 8th August 2012 as the date for 2012's reunion at The Inn at Greatworth for this years reunion meet. This is the second wednesday in August and will be our 3rd Reunion.

I have made this proposal very early in the year so as to `get in to' everyones diary in good time for their organisation of their years commitments, i.e. holidays and vacations etc.

Should this date prove unsuitable for the majority of interested parties, please reply to the blog with anot...

10th August at "The Inn".

What a day! A lovely sunny midweek August in the heart of Northamptonshire. We couldn't have picked a better day if we tried! As I write this, I look outside to see leaden skies over a drizzly morning. Oh well, back to normal eh? We had a total of 19 arrive at The Inn, our hosts Mark and Anne did a great lunch which was served after our walkabout, which this year was limited as the companies that work on the site didn't ge...

This year has really galloped by and it feels as though we haven't done anyting at all in that time. But of course we have, it's just that being busy speeds time up and August is just around the corner. Both of us are really looking forward to meeting everyone at The Inn this year, a high point of the year so far, that is a complete contrast to the begining of our year. I'll ring Mark and confirm the event this evening, anyone wit...

Back in the old days I was called`Tom', my middle name, it has a story to it. Back in July '59 as I signed on at RAF Cardington, one other signatory, who's name I forget now, asked if I'd like to go to the naafi for a pint. His invitation went " You fancy a pint up 't naafi Jack?", overheard by several other new signatories, we were quickly joined for a pint or three and the name `stuck', indelibly! Untill several years later I remustered from "armam...

Surprisingly enough, our days as techies in the transmitter hall, be they with the SWB 8's and 11's, or HS31's and later gear, haven't  been left behind. The high power transmitters of today still use valves, yep thermionics still rule the air waves, check out this site for a feast of high power RF valve gear, but don't look at the prices!http://nrgkits.shopfactory.com/workshop/tetrode.htm

Martin

  I have recently subscribed to skype, the internet video phone system, if there are other members out there interested in this form of communication, Look up the Skype site on  www.skype.co.uk  very effective and cheap to run, free between subscribers, including webcam video.

  Skype supports 'conference' style networking so that several subscr...

If you'd like to attend the 10th August's 2011 RAF Greatworth Reunion, please leave a comment, or you can email me raf.greatworth@mypostoffice.co.uk or virgoprestige@yahoo.co.uk  , if anyone is coming with you, please say, The Landlord of The Inn and anyplace we visit may find this helpfull, as will everyone including this site for its statist...

For those of you interested, I have posted a December 1963 photo taken at Hittadu Tx Site in the Greatworth people gallery.  Although not exclusively Greatworth, several of the guys shown on this photo did serve at Greatworth, and in some cases at Edlesborough.  Some of the latter possibly also served at Greatworth as there were occasionally cross-postings between the two units.  That said, with the exception of the three riggers, the cook and the General Duties guy (...

Well, whether it snowed or not is achedemic, it was a White Christmas with a good coverering of snow and ice everywhere down here in the Thames Vally. I do hope everyone had a wonderfull Christmas, here on Boxing Day, glass of Jamesons in hand and the missus (June) tucking into a snowball (apt!), we've had a quiet weekend Christmas to ourselves, neighbours have popped in, relatives have belled us, the roast pork has been rellished, pudding has g...

RAF Greatworth.com has just achieved it's first year on the internet, the membership (56) it has attracted is staggering and I am really happy to have remade so many old aquaintances from the past, even June (Mrs) has had some involvment and thoroughly enjoyed this years August reunion at RAF Greatworths site and at The Inn in the village, we're hoping for a repeat next year and will...

Our apologies for not keeping up with the site over this last month. Members who met my wife June will remember that she has some health issues and this last month has been more dependant on my help than usual. This last week has been worse as she has suffered from a cold, which didn't help her respiration a lot. But she is a gallant lass and with a little encouragement she'll bounce back into her normal form when that cold retreats. Hopefully her apointment at the Heart Hospital this 5th Nov...

Who put the old accommodation site on the Welsh Road?

Was it unhappy to be in it`s old place in the side road about directly opposite to the transmitter hall entrance door? It only takes 4 clicks of the left arrow to get there.( I said LEFT arrow airman).

The proposed `High Speed Rail Link' that will slice through the Old TX Hall and the CO's House in a few years time, isn't the only cloud on the horizon. There is also a proposal for a wind farm, to be built, it is said, on the other side of Welsh Lane, where the original railway line was. This will not, it is thought, further demolish RAF Greatworth, but Greatworth's villagers are showing deep concerns about these developments so close to their village and a...

During the war, Greatworth was the Tx station for Bletchley Park. I was serving at Bletchley and on promotion to the dizzy rank of corporal was posted to RAF Greatworth. I don't recal there being a village. I was billeted in Helmdon.

No huts (I think) other than the Tx. Rhombics for communication with NZ, Aus, Western desert, Kilindini and Colomb.

SWB 10 (just one of those biggies) and mostly SWB 8 and 11

I didn't know the place still existed

Michael

I've added a couple of clips for you all to enjoy. Taken from the front of my Ural's sidecar, I'd mounted a camera on the bull bar, we rode from The Inn to the camp, along Helmdon Road and Welsh Lane then back again on a sunny wednesday afternoon this week. If these prove popular I'll add more as I visit the area frequently. If anyone would like to see a particular part of Greatworth on video or photographed, I'd like to hear ab...

Eric Rogers has just suggested, that as some of our members are radio hams, that a temporary re-activation of RAF Greatworth might be posible for a day, he sugests it could be a feature of the reunion on Aug 12th I suppose if that should happen, I could bring one of my CB Radio's too? I think it would be really add to the atmosphere if the local hams  helped by fixing a contest on that day, some of them may wish to augment any of our vets at the site?

In the forces, entertainment was not easy to come by if you were the lowest form of life, i e a national serviceman.

I do remember one episode at Locking, when 2 or 3 classes were grouped together, marched off to the drill ground and put thro. our paces by an N C O.

After a time he handed us over to an officer, who had I believe been newly posted to the station.. He continued to march us up and down, saluting to the right and left, being totally boring.

I was positioned...

Those who were at Greatworth during the same period as myself will no doubt remember Flight Lieutenant Eeles, our CO, was a stickler for security.  He insisted that all windows be closed at night, even in the summer when it would get unpleasantly warm in the Transmitter Hall.  Of course we ALWAYS had the windows behind the watch desk open!  From those windows it was at least an 8-foot...