This is a summary of what I remember about the people in
the photo
on my RAE page. Names are listed from
left to right, back row to front row.
PW Hall
nothing
KW Bateman
Keith. Good-looking fellow, bit of an artist, did drawings of
Jean Simmons etc. Came to Avro Canada, pally with ?Robinson
there.
BJ Beele
Brian. Chosen to go to Imperial College, lucky sod. Flew with
University Air Squadron etc. Phoned me in 2000 about the 50th
re-union. Married while at Farnborough.
DA Barnby
From Scunthorpe, had a 350 Matchless (Ariel?) on which he & I once went to
Silverstone.
DG Jacobs
Jake. He & CR Stephens (Steve) shared a room at the Grange, whence
mock homosexual sound-effects would emerge. I met him briefly at
IBM Hursley, where he was working, when I went for an interview.
DR Rees
Dai. Conducted our choral turn at the Grange Hostel Christmas Fest.
The programme included Ar Hyd y Nos, We Run 'em In, and Goodbye.
Rugby player.
JM Smith
Nothing.
RE Robbins
Ricky. Started off on the degree course, but failed part 1. He &
I both got thin results envelopes, denoting a problem; when I
opened mine he expressed disappointment that I merely had to retake
fluids while he was inexorably relegated to the HNC stream. Came
to Avro Canada, bought an MG. Shared my flat for a bit after Enid
went home. Came to see me in 1961 in London, with Merijke, in my bed-sit in
Maida Vale, when I was working as a turner before going to Vickers.
CR Stephens
Steve. He & DG Jacobs (Jake) shared a room at the Grange, whence
mock homosexual sound-effects would emerge. I met him briefly at
Vickers, which he joined not long after I'd started programming.
RD Walter
Walt. Had his own car, an Austin 7 special. Some connection with
Colin Chapman of Lotus. Shared with Bill Coles in A-block at the Grange.
My room was nearby, and he & I had some sort of argument once, which
ended in him tipping my bed up (with me in it), and Bill restraining
me from revenge; luckily, as Walt was a strong person,
bien dans son peau, unlike me. We exchanged an email in 2000,
he expressed an enthusiasm for motorcycling.
H Price
Harry. Nothing further.
JD Wheater
Si informationem requiris, circumspice.
JH Barnes
John Barnes. Thought a bit of an ass, but later in life did well academically
I believe; met him at the last reunion. Had a motorcycle, which
he rode notoriously slowly; when he had a minor accident, Derek
Mills said it was because he was going so slowly he thought he'd stopped,
and got off.
WA Coles
Bill. With Mike Bartram and Dave Faddy, a particular friend.
Met him briefly at some computer thing, when he was working at Warton.
MR Bartram
Mike. With Bill Coles and Dave Faddy, a particular friend.
Came from Brockenhurst, where he had some legendary friends known as
'the lads'. Could do clever cycle-speedway things on his push bike.
Good-looking chap; we thought, after seeing Captain Horatio Hornblower,
that he looked like Gregory Peck, particularly in the rain.
DJ Mills
Derek. Another strong character; played in a jazz band; irritated
the vice-principal, Taylor-Cooke, by declining an Outward Bound opportunity
for which he had been chosen.
TR Fuller
Bob. Something of a friend, he visited our home in Wokingham once. Joined
the Engineering branch of the RAF. Met him, in uniform, at the first reunion
at the Queens Hotel. Killed soon after on his motorcycle, no other vehicle
involved.
JF Farley
John Farley. Achieved distinction as a
test pilot.
Famous for having a battery of remedies and pills of various sorts. He & I
exchanged the odd letter after he joined the RAF as a pilot; I asked him
how he'd passed the medical (as Fred Wild & I did) in view of all those
pills. His reply was that they'd all worked! Saw him at a couple of
reunions, where he was of course rather lionised.
GT Golesworthy
Nothing.
JE Toplis
Nothing.
JH Streets
Johnny Streets. A legendary character, expert on motor cars. Bit of a
tearaway?
AJ Brooks
Tony. Aeromodeller, good engineer. I remember him doing his drawing
confidently, under Urfie Ham, when May and I were struggling. Met him at
the last reunion; lives here in Farnham I think.
AJ Cole
Alan. Not much more. Think he too joined the RAF on a short-service
commission.
Miss JE Radley
Joan. Curiously, not much else. The only girl. Did she go out with Jerry
Gott for a bit?
DM Waters
Dave. Had a Morris 8.
J Gott
Jerry. His brother Brian was an apprentice too, a year or two ahead. Met
him at the last two reunions. Exchanged an email or two about the 2000
reunion.
RD Peggs Esq. MA
The principal.
RJA Armstrong Esq.
Digger. Had some sort of admin connection with the apprentices, occupied
an office inside the Establishment. Got an OBE not long after I left.
Had himself been an RAE apprentice in - I think - 1914. Could that
be the case? He certainly lived to be old, and attended the 1995?
reunion at the age of about 90.
FJ Wild
Fred. He & I went to RAF Hornchurch for aircrew selection, in 1954?
We were both accepted as suitable for training as a pilot. I should
have gone in for it too (odd how the stammer didn't show itself), but
developed an ear infection. Fred didn't go for it though, but did join
the RAF in the Engineering branch and, I believe, retired as a Group
Captain.
JH Anderson
Nothing. Or was it he who got a TR2 with his accident compensation money?
DJ Faddy
Dave. With Mike Bartram and Bill Coles, a particular friend. Not impressed
with the Farnborough training, he continued studying I believe at
Shrivenham, and then I think did well in the Civil Service. Met him
at Selborne in 1994? when we were in a play in which I played a small
part as William Cobbett. I was really pleased, but I don't think he was,
though he did I think join the Cobbett society, and told me about the
reunions, where we met a couple of times.
J Rowe
Joe. Nothing else, except that I bought my first motorcycle from him,
an Enfield 150cc 4-stroke, for £6.
