Interesting thread! Frankly I would say that the Frantisek, Kellett, Kent and the Henneberg combat reports are all complete (but, in a way, persuasive ) forgeries.

Apart from all the valid comments on terminology etc the most accurate way of determining authenticity is by checking the signatures.

I have just done this. I am attaching three signatures which I know to be genuine and, if you compare them against the signatures recorded on the reports which are the subject of this thread, I think most people will agree that they are inconsistent with the genuine ones.

I do not have a signature of Henneberg but the rest of the report is entirely consistent with the other three documents and I therefore conclude that this too is a forgery having been manufactured by the same individual.

As ‘Tangmere 1940’ says Johnnny Kent never looped the J when he signed as either John or Johnny.

I hope this is helpful

Ian Sayer

Hello Mick
Yes I knew Frank Hudson many years later when he became an executive in the air freight industry.
Regards
Ian Sayer

Tom
Can you mark up some of these buildings so that some of us can get a fix . Thanks Ian

The South East LAP Mob (1957-1961)

I was going through some old diaries recently and came across many entries from 1958 to 1960 relating to my aircraft spotting days. This led me to this thread which I see exhausted itself last year. However I noticed that a lot of posts were made by former spotters who mainly carried out their activities from the North side of LAP so I thought it might be appropriate to mention those of us who tended to practice our hobby from the South Side particularly around Cains Lane and on the airport side of the Great West Road where we used to congregate around a sandbin and an RAC box if my memory serves me correctly.

There are many names in my diaries which do not fully identify the individuals concerned. I sometimes referred to them by their first names, sometimes by their surnames and more often than not by their nicknames. The group was more often than not known colloquially as The South East LAP mob. It was an informal group with no administration . Just a group of people who hung around together collecting aircraft registrations. I also mentioned people who were just occasional visitors and not part of the ‘mob’. These would include such well known names as Brian Stainer the photographer and Frank Hudson , another photographer and spotter of many years standing. Many of us used to bike or bus to such wonderful places as Croydon Airport, White Waltham and Fairoaks where we had great fun in getting into the hangars through holes in fences etc.

On occasions there was some formality and I recall in particular a coach trip to the Coventry Air Show on the 11th July 1959 when 41 members of the ‘mob’ enjoyed a great day out which ended with a sing song on the coach and the acquisition of several advertising and road signs.

Quite a few of the group came from local schools such as Hampton (HGS) and Sunbury Grammar School (SGS)s, Longford and Southville schools in Feltham.

One of my spotting mates , Kenny Ede, who I went to school with, has helped me to piece together a number of names and, as a result, I now know more about some of these people than when our paths crossed over half a century ago.

Anyway I thought I would post the names from my diaries just for the sake of it. You might recognise yourself here or you might know the real name of somebody only referred to by a nickname but I would be interested to see any responses.

These then are the people I encountered at the end of Cains Lane between 1958 and 1962 when I got my first job and started thinking more about girls than aircraft. Some were there all the time, some were there occasionally and others just for the odd visit.

Kenny Ede (HGS) Bedfont
Terry O’Halloran , Feltham. Ex Longford. Joined RAF
Pete Watkins
Frank Hudson. Ashford. Killed in motorbike accident.
Ronnie LNU (Last Name Unknown)
Virgo
Bess
Danny LNU
Clive Rayner (Nickname ‘Tank’) Feltham
Rodney LNU
‘Shrimp’
‘Toad’
Vic Southern
Ian Woodward (Nickname ‘Fluff’)
Stan Rogers (Went to Australia)
‘Goblin’ (Surname may have been Godwin)
John Goodrich
‘Jacko’
Pete Whymark
‘Sausage’
Ted Burly
Vic Penny (HGS)
Brian Dedman (HGS)
Tony Galler (SGS)
FNU (First name unknown) McCloud
‘Giant’
Mick (LNU)
Colin LNU (Possibly HGS)
Doug Revell
Ken Haywood
FNU Nightingale
‘Banger’
Willie (LNU)
John James
D Smiley (Possibly Dave (Smiley) Stevens)
Roger Painter (Longford)
Barry Hawkes (HGS)
Paul (LNU)
John Davison (Nickname D-Day)
Dave Clark (Possibly nicknamed ‘Fulham’)
John Wilby
Gordon LNU (Rode a Lambretta)
John Coulbeck
Ray LNU (Policeman from Staines area)
Ian Trott
Les Fenn (HGS)
Tony Newton (HGS)
Graham Taylor – Feltham
Gary LNU
Pete Worrell
Tony Carey
George Wayne (HGS)
Roger Davies (Known as ‘Dai’ . Worked at Gresham Transformers
‘Birdy’
Fred Mundy (HGS)
FNU Ward
Dick Hawker
Richard Presland Bedfont
Barry Harmes (HGS)
Malcolm Hunt
Alun Jones (HGS)
John Phillips (Staines)
Colin Randall (Feltham)
Maurice Davies (Feltham)
FNU Riddlesdown
Roger Hoodless (HGS)[ATTACH=CONFIG]237726[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]237726[/ATTACH]

Well according to ‘Aces High’ Frantisek shot these two down on the 5th September and not the 3rd. Easy mistake to make if you’re copying it down from a book! Call me cynical but….