I’m sitting here in tears.

Saw the thread title & though ‘God no…’ Hoped it would be a wind up or a bit of leg pulling over something.

Everyone has said it & I can only echo it, he was one of the nicest people on this forum, and great company on the several times I had the pleasure of meeting him. This forum will be all the poorer without him.

My thoughts are with Julie, Haydn, and Steve’s family.

Adieu Steve

Geoff.

Well, this was certainly ‘historic’ for me, as at the grand old age of 44 I ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ for the very first time courtesy of YakRider. I’m glad I waited, after all where better than North Weald to take your first flight, and in an ex-RAF aircraft, with a fan on the front too.

Trevor – I shall be ever grateful for yesterday.

Geoff.

image 1 – Taxying out, image 2 – We’re off (Images 1 & 2 courtesy Richard Herring), 3 & 4 – Coalhouse Fort, East Tilbury, a Victorian Casemate fortress who were having a Wings & wheels day, 5- Tilbury Fort, built by Henry VIII & where Elizabeth I reviewed her troops on the eve of the Spanish Armada, 6) Nearly home, 7- On the downwind leg, 9 & 10- Safely down.

From memory, doesn’t this contain footage of the airmen and aircraft involved in the infamous “Battle of Barking Creek” – possibly even the scramble that led to the incident? Or was the film made before September ’39?

Adrian

The scenes you’re thinking of were filmed on the afternoon of the 6th September, and featured ‘B’ flight of No 74 Sqn; the infamous ‘battle’ which had taken place in the morning having involved ‘A’ flight.

There is also a scene which captured Wellingtons returning on the 4th September from the first offensive RAF operation of the war.

The RAF is also shown intercepting a raid – at the same spot the ‘Battle of Barking Creek’ took place, whilst another shot shows battle damage to a Spitfire, almost certainly caused by ‘friendly’ AA fire during the ‘battle’.

BTW Barking Creek is 20 miles from where the first interception took place and 50 miles from where the two Hurricanes came down.

Geoff.

Stan,

I looked this incident up in ‘Lost to service’, and Colin Cummings has the crew as F/O Roderick Colin Murray Macmillan and Senior Aircraftman Kim Colin Petty-Fitzmaurice, both killed. There’s no mention of anyone else on board.

Geoff.