ORAFs NEWSLETTER 24 JANUARY, 2017
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Eddy Norris
Jan 23, 2017, 11:14:29 PM1/23/17
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Old Rhodesian Air Force Sods
Newsletter 24 January, 2017.
Further to Group Captain Graham Smith.
Syd Polwarth adds a bit more detail to our prior articles with Group Captain Graham Smith.
Syd writes; - If memory serves me correctly, Graham Smith (on whose Old Hararians Committee I served when he was Club Chairman/President) had been Ian Douglas Smith's CO during WW11. They were friends although Graham never dwelt upon this. He would have willingly volunteered for service during the early years of our war and I'm sure that there must be VR members still alive who came in contact with him.
Why does the Air Force in Dolphin House ring a bell?
Graham was MD of W.C.MacDonald, an agency business, and his staff included Chippy Pringle-Wood who had been in WW11 in Burma etc and Brian Cowling, the latter ex BSAP and a member of the SR ER11 Coronation Contingent in 1953
Thanks Syd - if anyone can shed light on the Air Force and Dolphin house please write to
ora...@gmail.com Mount Inyangani/Vila da Manica/Pungwe Pontoon Photos
Emily Messina nee Payne kindly shares a few photos from the past with us.
On top of Mount Inyangani. Photo courtesy Emily Messina nee Payne.
Emily Payne drinking a coke on the top of Mount Inyangani with David White sitting on the beacon. I can't remember how old I was maybe about 10 years of age. We were the youngest to ever climb that mountain but I remember we just romped up there - it was an easy climb! This feat was mentioned in the Umtali Post. My parents Tom/Rusty and Connie were friends with George and Rae White and they belonged to the Umtali Mountain Club. We camped at the base and climbed the mountain the next day.
Bull Fight in Vila da Manica - Photo courtesy of Emily Messina nee Payne.
This picture is of the bullfight which was held periodically at Vila da Manica in Mocambique. It was a highlight for the people of Umtali - they would flock down there and also get involved with fighting the poor bull! A lot of fun was had by all............!!
The Pungwe River Pontoon. Photo courtesy Emily Messina nee Payne.
The Pungwe River pontoon. This was before the bridge was built we would queue for hours waiting our turn to get across the river on the pontoon. Us children, would sit on the pontoon and go backwards and forwards for the ride until my Dad spotted some crocs on the side of the river and a number of hippos, so those rides came to an end. No body minded whiling away the time, out in the sun for hours as there was the wonderful camaraderie of all the other Rhodesians waiting patiently. Our parents always tried to plan the trip to Beira earlier enough in the day not to have to queue for too long. The end of the pontoon era was quite a disappointment for us children!
Thank you Emily - I wonder if others would share stories of the bull fights? I loved the photo of the pontoon - a super photo to have - does any one know of any mishaps encountered on the pontoons and perhaps how much the fare was?
NS/TA Officer.
Dave Stedman is appealing for assistance with his NS/TF Roll -
Dave writes ; I made an appeal via Orafs about a year ago for information of Rhod Army NS/TF officers. I’m looking for any old pictures with a date and the names of those pictured. I did get some response and some replies that resulted in my being able to add around 14 new officers to my NS/TF roll. Since then I’ve managed to increase the roll to over 1700 officers.
However please can you appeal again for any old unit / RR / Officers Mess / medal ceremonies photos.
Thanks Dave - please folk take the time to write to Dave with any names you can recall, this Roll will in time be a great reference to our chaps and history.
If you can help or recall who was around that time, kindly write to me at ora...@gmail.com
Thank you.
Memories of 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron by Mitch Stirling.
Many will remember the shop ‘Kemsley and Dawes’ on Gordon Avenue in Salisbury that provided spares and repairs and all things electrical to its customers.
Owners George Kemsley and Mervyn Dawes first met in 1939 at the Show Grounds where a camp had been hastily erected to house recruits for the Second World War. They shared a barrack room and passed time together at a canteen under the grand-stand; the same one that is still there today.
Because of his experience in running a battery shop in town and, with his enthusiasm as a radio ham, George eventually was sent to Cairo to train as an instrument repair mechanic with the Royal Air Force.
Mervyn, with his electrical background, became a wireless and electrical mechanic (WEM) with No 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesia Air Force which later became 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF. He was aircraftman No 776229 initially, but was eventually promoted to corporal. The rank of corporal carried considerable responsibility during the war, as he was to discover!
When Rhodesians were demobbed at the end of the war the two old friends decided to open a business together. A building on Angwa Street, previously used as a repository for technical books for aerodromes, provided an ideal setting for their first shop. Aircraft packing cases, used as shelving, were useful additions to their new showroom. So was Mervyn’s new suit, some shirts and underwear and an air force gratuity of £275. That’s all he received for his 6 years of service with the military!
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Large detachments of ground staff and air crew who had been on the front-line in East Africa since the outbreak of war were coming home, so the shop was well-supported by ex-servicemen in those early years. Business was brisk, with sales of bc adaptors and fuses (bought from the OK Bazaars!) as well as commissions for rrepairing radios and re-winding car generator armatures. Frank May at the Electrical Service Station in Union Avenue was a regular customer.
Back in town was Willie Futon (No 776234) a ‘driver petrol’ who had won a Bronze Medal in the Lightweight division for boxing at the Empire Games in Australia in 1938. He started Fulton and Evans. Grace Douglas and Dorothy Brown had married Willie Fulton and Mervyn Dawes in Nairobi during the war. The two girls, plus Grace’s sister, Olive, had hopped on the troopship ‘SS Kenya’ at Beira and sailed to Mombasa to be with their men!
Back in town was Willie Futon (No 776234) a ‘driver petrol’ who had won a Bronze Medal in the Lightweight division for boxing at the Empire Games in Australia in 1938. He started Fulton and Evans. Grace Douglas and Dorothy Brown had married Willie Fulton and Mervyn Dawes in Nairobi during the war. The two girls, plus Grace’s sister, Olive, had hopped on the troopship ‘SS Kenya’ at Beira and sailed to Mombasa to be with their men!
HH ‘Happy’ Taylor, a life-long friend of Mervyn, had a shop behind Kemsley
and Dawes, the Gourock Ropes and Canvas Company. Flying Officer Taylor had trained at Belvedere and Guinea Fowl before transferring to 237 Squadron. Then, with 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, he flew Handley Page Hampdens ‘the flying suitcase’ and Avro Lancasters, being awarded a DFM and DFC.
Air Gunner Sergeant HL ‘Molly Maltas’ (No 776350) who went on to fly Lancasters in 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, started Maltas Bros.
Air Gunner Sergeant Ken Murrell (No 776201) was home − with a DFM awarded for bravery. He continued in aviation with a ‘distinguished’ career as a civilian pilot for Hunting Clan and later for Rhodesia United Air Carriers.
Old friend Archie Wilson was back.With a Distinguished Flying Cross (the only Rhodesian to receive an American DFC) and an OBE awarded in 1961, Air Marshal Wilson became the first born-and-bred Rhodesian to command the Royal Rhodesian Air Force and the Rhodesian Air Force − after the `Royal` had been dropped!
Air Gunner Sergeant John Burl DFM (No 776358) went farming at Wedza.
Sadly, his brother Alan (No 776206) would never return. As the air gunner on Hardy K3411, Sergeant Alan Burl and Pilot Officer Paul Holdengarde, from Bulawayo, encountered a Fiat Ca.42 east of Metemma in Abyssinia. Burl was shot through the head, the first fatality of the war. He is buried at Gedaref (Al Qadarif) in the Sudan, but his headstone can be found in the Commonwealth (South African) War Graves at Keren in Eritrea.
Many more would never come home.
Mervyn’s father arrived from Bulawayo to help with the accounts in the shop. Robert Cawood, George’s brother-in-law, joined the business from Joelson Brothers. Geoff Kluckow and Dick Konschel joined too, as well as Don Brown, another old RAF friend from England.
It was not until 1956 that another old serviceman from the RAF arrived. Although they had never met, this old soldier must have been in Libya at the same time as Mervyn and probably at the relief of Tobruk as well.
He was Corporal Bill Stirling, a wireless operator on Wellington bombers, seconded to Montomery’s 8th Army as a scout in the Western Desert. Dad became a director of Kemsley and Dawes at a time when Squadron Leader Jack Rowe’s wife, Irene, joined the team. Flight Lieutenant Dewsbury’s wife, Ellen, was there as well.
My childhood memories of Kemsley and Dawes Pvt Ltd are filled with great happiness … and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Mervyn’s wartime diary, passed on to me by his sons Brian and Stu Dawes, is 24 pages of fascinating reading. Along with a unique collection of old photographs, which bring the narrative to life, it is a wonderful addition to Our Rhodesian Heritage.
Sincere thanks to Mitch for his permission to share this article along with many personal photos. All photos are courtesy of Mitch Stirling.
Aviation Enthusiasts.
Tom Krummell forwards an interest article by the First Aero Squadron Foundation on the evolution of cock pits. Click the link https://firstaerosquadron.com/2015/09/23/cockpit-evolution-from-the-beginning-to-present/
And then for a bit of humour, Bryan Jarman forwards -
An air traffic control tower suddenly lost communication with a small twin engine aircraft. A moment later the tower land line rang and was answered by one of the employees.
The passenger riding with the pilot who lost communications was on a cellular phone and yelled "Mayday, mayday!!
The passenger riding with the pilot who lost communications was on a cellular phone and yelled "Mayday, mayday!!
The pilot had an instant and fatal heart attack. I grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and he had told me before we took off he had the tower on his speed dial memory. I am flying upside down at 18,000 feet and travelling at 180 mph. Mayday, mayday!!"
The employee in the tower had put him on speaker phone immediately.
"Calm down, we acknowledge you and we’ll guide you down after a few questions. The first thing is not to panic, remain calm!!".
He began his series of questions:
Tower : " How do you know you are travelling at 18,000 feet?"
Aircraft: "I can see that it reads 18,000 feet on the Altimeter Dial in front of me."
The employee in the tower had put him on speaker phone immediately.
"Calm down, we acknowledge you and we’ll guide you down after a few questions. The first thing is not to panic, remain calm!!".
He began his series of questions:
Tower : " How do you know you are travelling at 18,000 feet?"
Aircraft: "I can see that it reads 18,000 feet on the Altimeter Dial in front of me."
Tower: "Okay, that’s good, remain calm. How do you know you’re travelling at 180 mph?"
Aircraft: "I can see that it reads 180 mph on the Airspeed dial in front of me."
Tower: Okay, this is great so far, but it’s heavily overcast, so how do you know you're flying upside down?"
Aircraft : ” “The sh*t in my pants is running out of my shirt collar."
Aircraft: "I can see that it reads 180 mph on the Airspeed dial in front of me."
Tower: Okay, this is great so far, but it’s heavily overcast, so how do you know you're flying upside down?"
Aircraft : ” “The sh*t in my pants is running out of my shirt collar."
Thanks Tom and Bryan.
ORAFs thanks all who sent in articles and photos and those who continually support me with the other follow ups and queries. Folk very little is coming in now so please dig up some memories etc for us to continue with. Thank you.
ORAFs thanks the owners/producers of any materials used in this weeks NL - No monetary gain is intended nor gained through the usage - For sharing purposes only.
Reminders -
AFA (Cape) Monthly Braai
First Friday evening of each month.
Contact Johnny Ness and or Tony Cowell for details
First Friday evening of each month.
Contact Johnny Ness and or Tony Cowell for details
AFA (Gauteng) Monthly Prayer Meeting
First Saturday afternoon of the month at Dickie Fritz Shellhole.
Contact Cheryl Grover for details
Contact Cheryl Grover for details
Comments are always welcome - send them to ora...@gmail.com
Place of the week - Inyangani Moutain.
The highest mountain in Rhodesia (2594,8 meters) Inyangani is at the southern end of the Inyanga Mountains. Its slopes are gentle and a motor road approaches to within 500 meters of the summit. Source; Encyclopaedia Rhodesia 1973.
_________________________
sent in memory of Eddy Norris
by Paul Norris & Denise Taylor
RSA & Canada
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