Blimey Mark L, some high rankers there. The only family officer I’m aware of was Cecil Truman who flew Blenheims, don’t really know much about his combat career apart from the fact that he was awarded the DFC, is there a way of finding out more about his service record.
My father was obviously highly thought of during his wartime exploits with the Royal Artillery, he finished up as a warrant officer but was offered the incentive of a commision if he stayed on after the war, should have taken it, he went back to his ever poorly paid job in the provincial printing industry, got put on standby for Korea but never went in the end, called a Z Reservist I beleive.

You’d have to pay me a substantial amount of money to drink any smooth “beer”. Absolute cr@p.

Kimberley amazed me when they introduced Classic – 4.8% ABV, zero taste. I didn’t know it could be done at that strength.

I am impressed to find a discerning beer fan, lets call it a truce, you’d better hurry over to the Red Lion in Finchingfield so we can finish off the last of the Ridleys.
Anyone tried Pelforth Brun, Belgian I think.
Went to the Munich area last year and was treated to some magnificent beers unobtainable at Tesco’s etc of course, found a supermarket chain in Cumbria/North Lancs earlier this year, whose name escapes me, but they had a fantastic selection of beers, best I’ve seen, cheap too.

Simon Fuller… who also regretted it all the way to the bank before repeating the experience with S Club 7.

Do you mind, my missus’s cousin Jo was in S-Club and at least she can sing, actually so can my missus, unlike most of the Spice Girls.

First commercial flight was in a British Midland Handley Page Herald from East Midlands to Jersey August 1966, I published a picture of it on an Historic thread a couple of months ago. I went in the example at DX a couple of weeks ago, the first time I had been in one since then, was surprised at how small it seemed, particularly the cockpit that I travelled back in, and the fact that the galley was up front.
First light aircraft belonged to a work colleage of my ex wife, about 25 years ago.
All I remember was that it was a French 4 seater and was quite nippy. We took off from Andrews Field and chased trains along the A12, he chucked it around quite a bit, had fun diving onto the tails of other aircraft in the vicinity and did a surprise landing and takeoff in a field near Coggeshall, much to the chagrin of the farmer who was cutting the hay at the time. He let me take over the controls, but I was a bit heavy handed and went into a slide slip over Witham.
I did eventually start flying lessons from Andrews Field in a Cesna and seemed to do OK but time and money put an end to it.
Last flight was in an Easy Jet 737 from Munich, fortunately I had had several in flight whiskies when the pilot bounced it down the Stansted runway, the screams were impressive.

Kimberley definitely and Home Ales I think are still around. Extremely average beer, totally tasteless in both cases. Mansfield used to make a real ale called Old Baily which was superb. They stopped making it well before they were taken over so I don’t miss them.

I have no sympathy for Morlands either, Greene King did to them exactly what they themselves did to Ruddles. Before the closure I didn’t mind Old Speckled Hen but now it’s one of my favourites. After all the beers that have been ruined by changing breweries it’s nice to finally get one that’s improved. Ruddles County for example is a shadow of it’s former character and Courage Directors is virtually undrinkable.

Adnams used to make an excellent brew called Extra. I haven’t seen it for years now so I suspect it’s no longer made.

Kimberley Brewery alive and kicking, how you can say it’s tasteless when it has a strong hoppy flavour is beyond me, you must have tried the Smooth, which is just that, try Kimberley Classic.
The Home Ales brewery was taken over by Scottish and Newcastle and shut down a few years ago, the building is now a Tesco store, any beer produced under that name is different. I will argue till the cows come home that no-one can take a beer from it’s original source and make it taste the same.

What a bunch of sad’os, how can anyone possibly like Ruddles County and Old Speckled Hen that are now made in Bury St Edmunds, their original breweries having been destroyed by Greene King whose own products I now find pretty average, and I shall never forgive them for destroying Ridley’s, why is it that every supermarket across the country sells Greene King, I get sick of finding it in every local pub I go to.
And how can anyone call Heiniken and Bud beers, I would sooner drink what I’m about to flush down the toilet.
Adnams also are not the same as they used to be, however I do love Regatta though it’s hard to get hold of.
Top beers, Timothy Taylors Landlord from Keigthly and Pale Rider from Sheffield, also Nethergate from Clare, Suffolk that considering I’m only a few miles from the brewery is hard to find in these parts because GK have the monopoly.
Found some really good stuff in Maldon a few weeks ago produced by their own local brewery, very similar to Regatta.
Oh, and don’t forget Woodfordes in Norwich, their brewery is well worth a visit.
Oh, and Kimberley Ales from Notts, or rather Hardy Hansons, all those lovely breweries I grew up with like Shipstones, Home Ales and Mansfield that were bought up by the big chiefs and shut down for no reason apart from their own profit margins, I have a real thing about this, have you noticed.

As to relatives:-
Grandfather Truman, First World War, Royal Scots, fought at Somme and everything else hideous but somehow survived, have cap, Sam Brown belt and diaries that need to be researched.
Grandfather Brown, was employed by Leyland and retained as vital war worker 1914-1918.
Father, 1940, coastal defence with RA, Mablethorpe, Cromer, deployed on guns from Iron Duke, promoted to sargeant and lecturer at Larkhill, artillery spotter and signaller.
D-Day plus one, first into Bayeux, Operation Goodwood, Carpiquet Airfield in support of Canadians, Falaise Pocket, crossing Seine, first into Brussells on special op to capture Gestapo HQ, XXX Corps in support of Arnhem, controlled artillery in support of US Airborne crossing river at Nijmuiden, crossed bridge under fire, went on ops with US Airborne to direct fire on SS Divs, had hand to hand fight with Tiger tank and won!!!! Battle of the Bulge,Crossed Rhine under attack from Me 262’s, first into Belsen, Cologne, Luneberg Heath.
Sent home then off to Bombay as part of Tiger Force, A-Bomb dropped on day of arriving at Bombay, arrived back in UK 1946.
Uncle Eric Brown, sent to USA to serve on HMS Illustrious being re-fitted there.Went to Pacific and attached to US fleet, suffered many Kamikaze attacks and rescued head of Jap pilot kept in pickle jar in mess.
Seriously ill from tropical ulcers and malaria but life saved by personal intervention of Mountbatten and flown by him in his personal Sunderland to hospital in South Africa.
Was armourer on Corsairs, his checking periscope is sitting a few feet away.
Uncle Alec Truman, served on escort carrier, Thumper? in Atlantic, Med and Arctic convoys.
Uncle Cecil Truman DFC, Blenheim pilot.
Partners dad, John Pesti, escaped from Soviet invasion of Hungary 1956 by running through minefield aged 16.
Ex father in law, John Rodgers, Huddersfield, took part in the long trek from Bombay to Egypt via Iran and Iraq to bolster 8th Army, infantry signaller, Alamein, Sicily, Anzio, etc etc, lucky to survive, especially when Jeep exploded beneath him and all others killed.
Mother, Ethel Truman, fire watcher and maker of parachutes.
Ex mother in law Renee, same job.
Pete Truman, former scout helper, must be the worst.
Sad to say the only the only survivors are my mother and John Pesti.
Forgot about Uncle Harold, Auxiliary Fire Service, still got his cap.
And of course probably most relevant, ex uncle in law Ralph Tailford, still going strong as member of Elvington Museum, flight engineer on Halifaxes as well as electronic warfare B-17’s. Had to call in at Bassingbourne once to refuel and was presented with fags by Clark Gable, who personally filmed the whole event in colour which is available as a USAAF gunnery training film obtainable from Amazon, thanks to the great Roger Freeman for helping me trace that one.