According to my Dad, who served in the RAF (1960-1983), he attended two state funerals that involved RAF Benson circa 1971-73. Both featured men – one of whom was former King Edward VIII, whose body was flown into RAF Benson. I suspect that the other person, like the former king, arrived into the UK via RAF Benson, because at the time it was home to The Queen’s Flight. Problem is: my dad can’t remember who that other deceased VIP was? Perhaps he was a minor member of the Royal Family or a former/current politician?
Can anyone shed light on the matter?
Best Wishes
Phil Rhodes
By: paulmcmillan - 27th January 2011 at 14:08
Slightly slightly off topic….but a connection to the Duke of Windsor and meteorology, Resmoroh!
At the time of his death I ran a Climatological Observing Station in Eastbourne, and our sunshine recorder (sun ball) was – and probably still is – on the roof of the Grand Hotel. Come the day, the union flag was at half mast and entangled itself in the sunshine recorder ripping out the card. The result was that we ‘lost’ over eight hours of sunshine that day and were in what was then called the “Sunshine League” – vied for jealously by all seaside resorts on the coast who wanted to officially be “Suntrap of the South”. Result; we lost that year by a about six hours!
Anyway…a slight digression.
Ahh but did you abdicate responsibility?
By: Resmoroh - 27th January 2011 at 13:34
Tsk, Tsk, Andy,
Clearly nobody had taught you how replace “lost” sunshine by the hot wire system!! But the Sunshine Card experts at Met O HQ could tell whether a burn on the card was real sunshine or hot wire (or any of the other devious methods used to increase the apparent sunshine at Boggit-on-the-Briny!!). I don’t suppose there are many Sunshine Spheres still in existence today. Probably been replaced by some gizmo that records milliseconds of incoming radiation per square yard (or similar) – and to 18 decimal places!!. I started my Met O career in the era of the “spirit level & piece of string” and ended it in “gigaflops per second”! But even I could detect a ‘doctored’ Sunshine Card!!!
HTH
Resmoroh
By: Arabella-Cox - 27th January 2011 at 11:40
Slightly slightly off topic….but a connection to the Duke of Windsor and meteorology, Resmoroh!
At the time of his death I ran a Climatological Observing Station in Eastbourne, and our sunshine recorder (sun ball) was – and probably still is – on the roof of the Grand Hotel. Come the day, the union flag was at half mast and entangled itself in the sunshine recorder ripping out the card. The result was that we ‘lost’ over eight hours of sunshine that day and were in what was then called the “Sunshine League” – vied for jealously by all seaside resorts on the coast who wanted to officially be “Suntrap of the South”. Result; we lost that year by a about six hours!
Anyway…a slight digression.
By: Flamenco - 27th January 2011 at 11:30
A little more detail
Hi – this is not the question you asked but I can tell it was my father, Denis Lowery who was captain of the VC10 which brought back the body of Edward VIII into Benson.
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August 22, 2010 at 12:55 am