What happened to 'Uncle' & 'Skull'?

Idle thoughts…

But, y’know, I can’t think of one book – or account by an inteligence officer or adj from an RAF Squadron! Odd.

Hmmm.

I can only think of two – I’m working from memory, so cannot accurately remember titles and authors.

One was an early MCP title called “Bomber Intelligence”?? – chap later became involved in the A-Bomb project, which was covered in a subsequent title.

I believe there was also a Wm Kimber title (from the 70s?) about an Int. Officer in the Western desert on a Wellington squadron.

It’s a tragedy that you can’t buy all the books you want – or have room to keep them!

But, y’know, I can’t think of one book – or account by an inteligence officer or adj from an RAF Squadron! Odd..

On a related note:
I’ve met & talked with countless WWII American Air Corp veterans, most of them seem to have been pilots or gunners. Apparently not a single cook survived WWII :confused:

41 Squadrons IO, Lord “Gizzy” Gisborough would make for an interesting story. Former WW1 pilot and apparently quite the personality.

That’s Gizzy 2nd from the left on S/L Tom Niel’s left. Stan May, Tom Slack, Leslie Pricket, Hugh Parry and Lulu Lane fill out the photo with Ross Harding barely showing in the background behind Stan May.

Dan

Ask my fan club over on GD. They love me 😮

Moggy

Please don’t invite them over here, it’s so nice and peaceful.

Ask my fan club over on GD. They love me 😮

Moggy

You wanted cheerleaders……

Be careful what you wish for, no?

On a serious note, the book ‘To Live Among Heroes’ by George ‘Doc’ Bell is fascinating reading and was picked up for half price at the last Shuttleworth Sunset display.

Regards,

kev35

You must be an absolute rotter then Mogs. 😀

Ask my fan club over on GD. They love me 😮

Moggy

Indeed – absolutely bloody awful! 😀

You must be an absolute rotter then Mogs. 😀

(that’ll be me in a heap o trouble…)

😀 How would Moggy know,i thought he died 😀

Oi!

Only the good die young.

Moggy

This is true! Mind you, Baggy Bletchley mysteriously came back to life in AGCF as well! :confused:

Didn’t ‘Uncle’ die in A Good Clean Fight? 😉

😀 How would Moggy know,i thought he died 😀

Didn’t ‘Uncle’ die in A Good Clean Fight? 😉

No.

Records in the Desert War often got lost.

Moggy

I can’t remember how much of his work as a “Spy” was mentioned, but Michael Bentine (yes, him, Square World, Goons & all) was an Intelligence Officer and he did write about it in his autobiography.

Adrian

In answer to your question.

Uncle retired from the RAF in 1957 after completing his forty years service. He spent a very brief spell as personnel manager at a small engineering factory in Swanley, but didn’t settle to it. Eventually he bought himself a small pub in the Kent countryside that went bust when he didn’t keep up with the trend for food and fizzy lager. He sadly passed away in a nursing home early in 1980 when he attempted to recreate the stairwell incident, but in his wheelchair.

Skull went back to an obscure college at Cambridge to study a specialised area of mediaeval history. His only moment of note was when he argued with Watson & Crick over whose chair was whose at the Eagle in b’enet Street.

I think I glimpsed him once stomping through the tat stalls at Duxford, muttering.

Moggy

Didn’t ‘Uncle’ die in A Good Clean Fight? 😉

Oh wait, no, I was thinking of George Armour Bell, he was 609’s doctor who also wrote a book on them

Steve, wasn’t he the Doctor (M.O.)? I may be wrong.

I’m sure Snapper will know more about this, but the Intelligence Officer on 609 kept a very comprehensive record of the Squadron’s operations. Ziegler, I think his name was…

There is a book out there called “Invasion without Tears” this is written by Monty Berger who was an Intelligence Officer with 126 Wing. He was ivovled with the DDay landings and followed the Wing as it moved from site to site. He finished the war and returned to Canada and a career in journalism

In answer to your question.

Uncle retired from the RAF in 1957 after completing his forty years service. He spent a very brief spell as personnel manager at a small engineering factory in Swanley, but didn’t settle to it. Eventually he bought himself a small pub in the Kent countryside that went bust when he didn’t keep up with the trend for food and fizzy lager. He sadly passed away in a nursing home early in 1980 when he attempted to recreate the stairwell incident, but in his wheelchair.

Skull went back to an obscure college at Cambridge to study a specialised area of mediaeval history. His only moment of note was when he argued with Watson & Crick over whose chair was whose at the Eagle in b’enet Street.

I think I glimpsed him once stomping through the tat stalls at Duxford, muttering.

Moggy

Leslie Hunt was the IO with No. 488 (NZ) Squadron, and in 1949 he published a book on the squaron which must have been drawn from both his own records and memories. It is called Defence Until Dawn, and is very rare indeed. That’s the only one I can think of.

Interesting James, you’re right. Books from ground mechanics are thin on the ground, but other ancilliary staff in a squadron are non-existant. What about the cooks, barmen, firemen and supliers, etc attached to squadrons, they must have seen as much as anyone else but never write about their experiences (or at least never get published).

An amusing aside to ‘Skull’ Skullion – if you look really carefully in the opening scenes of Battle of Britain, in France before the Bf109’s attack the Hurricane squadron, there is an intelligence officer burning records and paperwork. He looks remarkably like Skull!