I first saw the light of day late 1927 in Tredegar Cottage hospital situated in the valleys of South Wales.  Apart from a couple of years in the west suburbs of London most of my childhood was spent there.  I attended Tredegar County School (now Grammar School) and in February 1944 joined the apprentice scheme at Cranwell as a member of the 43rd/7M3 entry.
 

Whilst at school I was a member of the local ATC and took an interest in boxing, which I continued at Cranwell.  Whilst there I became captain of the Boxing team, played as hooker in the 2nd fifteen and was Drum Major of the Voluntary Band.
 

1947 - 1950.

Left Cranwell in 1947 and was posted together with the Air Radio fitter element of our entry to St Athan. After an enjoyable year, two months of which was spent in hospital with jaundice, our ex Cranwell group was posted to various Stations round UK. I ended up at Wattisham in Suffolk at the Air Ministry Servicing Development Unit (AMSDU) which was later moved to Wittering and renamed Central Servicing Development Establishment (CSDE).  Work at these units entailed attachments to numerous UK establishments - Marham, Cleethorpes, Pembroke Dock, Wig Bay, Calshott, RRE Malvern. - to mention but a few.
 

1950.

Whilst at Malvern I married my first wife Beryl.
 

1950 - 1954.

Soon after getting married I was posted as a sergeant to Nicosia, Cyprus where I ran the Radio Servicing Workshop. Whilst there I spent a few months building and setting up the first radio homing station in the Troodos mountain range.  My daughter was born in the BMH Nicosia.  Three years later I returned to UK for officer training at Millom.

This was followed by the Junior Signals Officer's course at Debden in company with Sir Eric Dunn, the CAA patron.
 

1954 - 1966.

A session in the corridors of 90 Group HQ at Medmenham followed by three years at RAF Laarbruch, then Watton where I was once more was under the watchful eye of our old Cranwell C.O. Air Com Melvin.   Followed by an exchange posting with the RCAF in Ottawa and a double session at MOD (then Air Ministry).  Along the way there was a liberal sprinkling of technical and management courses at various RAF training establishments plus a year at Henlow College followed by a very hectic year at Southampton University to obtain Dip.El qualification.
 

1966.

I left the service at my 38/16 year point, as a Squadron Leader, to try my hand at civilian life.   For the first couple of years an ex-RAF colleague and I ran a small consultancy organizing technical conferences and exhibitions from a tiny office in Berkley Square, London.   This was followed by a twelve-year challenge turning a derelict 13th century manor house in the Wye Valley into a successful hotel business.   During this time I was also involved with my brother-in-law in the development of a holiday complex in Sardinia which was sold up following a major policy disagreement.   Next came a period in sales as the UK consultant for an American Direct Sales Marketing company which resulted in a management buy-out and the formation of a UK company which gave me an interesting five years as MD.
 

1993

In April 1993 my wife of 43 years died suddenly after a short illness.
 

After selling on the Sales Company I finished my full-time working life up with a period of free-lance business consulting for the Hereford Enterprise Agency and as Administrator to the Local Waterworks Museum.
 

I have since re-married.   My present wife, Ellen, now retired, was a Night Sister at the local hospital. Until recently we shared our time between our holiday home on the Costa del Sol and Hereford. We have recently moved house here and now live on the outskirts of Hereford.
 

I enjoy caravanning, computing, bowling and golfing in between visits to Spain and other sunny climes.
 

Sadly Don Saunders died in August 2003

1943

Sat and passed entrance examination for the RAF Apprentices came 64th in 386.
 

22nd February 1944

Halton for medical, interviews and trade selection.   Selected to be trained as a WOM at No.1 Electrical and Wireless School, Cranwell;  this later became No.1 Radio School.
 

1st March 1944

Marched to Wendover station on what was to be a very long journey, arrived Cranwell late evening, light covering of snow. We were not expected!
 

2nd Mar 1944 to March 1947

Cranwell training as a Wireless Operator Mechanic (WOM), later changed to Ground Radio Fitter, passed out AC1
 

March 1947

West Drayton to start our improvement worked in various sections, the worst being Signals workshop and the best Installation.
 

August 1947

Kicked out of West Drayton for the ’48 Olympics. Henlow, same round of sections but a bit like a prison. Marched into the technical site after colour hoisting parade, couldn’t get out again until marched out for lunch, unless of course one had a chit. Same process p.m. marched in and out.
 

September 1947

Worth Matravers to work on Gee. Worth housed a master and a slave station.
 

December 1947

Bawdsey to work on other Radar’s, a place like heaven, very relaxed.
 

February 1948

Back to Henlow
 

March 1948

Received our first posting after the years improvement, I got Henlow, well at least I didn’t have to pack. Fortunately got into installation so it wasn’t so bad. About this time, went to Chigwell for my second trade test, a whole week, got my LAC. Also during this time went on aircrew selection and was selected for training as a Navigator.
 

July 1948

Promoted to Corporal.
 

February 1949

Kirton-in-Lindsey for onward transmission to navigation school we, about half a dozen or so of the 7M3 entry, got Southern Rhodesia.
 Went to Hednisford for overseas kitting, thence to London, a block of flats overlooking Regents Park, en route to Southampton to catch a Union Castle boat to Cape Town. Two weeks of heaven on the boat followed by a day in Cape Town and a three-day train journey to Gwelo for Thornhill.

1949 - 1950

Not sure of actual dates, but trained as navigator and officer cadet. Tried to get thrown off course and stay put in Rhodesia. Couldn’t get thrown off due time-scale c.16 or 17 months into the 18-month course, Navigator IV.  Shipped off site pretty rapidly to Bullawayo, Kumalo.  Worked in the radio section, servicing air radio, about one month.  Shipped to Cape Town to await a berth, had to wait some two weeks staying in King George V Castle a South African army station.  Got a berth with Union Castle, other poor sods had to travel back on a RN Cruiser.
 

November 1950

Innsworth for processing and assignment, finally got my tapes back and was posted to Rye arriving there around November time to work on CH.
 

November 1950 to June 1952

Rye.
 

June 1952

Promoted Sergeant posted to 90 Group HQ Medmenham. Detached to Hopton, near Great Yarmouth, as Industrial Liaison Engineer for one of the new underground radar sites, also did a spell at Trimmingham when things were a bit quiet at Hopton. Interesting job dovetailing different labour forces in and making sure that they weren’t screwing us. Got permanent posting to Hopton to run the station after it was commissioned.
 

October 1954

Posted to Bomber Signals at Wildenrath, West Germany to work as a mobile monitoring unit for two Gee-H stations, namely Lüneburg and Schleswig, billeted at Lüneburg with a Field Ambulance unit of the Army.
 

October 1956

Promoted Flight Sergeant returned to HQ now at Butz Weilerhof to take over a Gee-H unit.
 

March 1957

Innsworth for demobilisation, three cheers. Had a job to go to in Germany, but decided against it for various reasons.
 

1957 - 1958

Scanners Ltd. Part of Marconi as a senior installation and commissioning engineer on an U.S. height finder, FPS6. Did installations at Sandwich, Boulmer, Neatishead and Wartling.
 

1958

Winston Electronics as an inspection, test and calibration engineer on Gee receivers.
 

August 1958 August 1964

EMI Electronics as Development Engineer on H2S MKIV and ASV21. Took ONC and HNC Electronics at evening school.
 

August 1964 to July 1970

Cossor Electronics as Senior Development Engineer, working firstly on CR787 an airfield control radar and finally on Green Ginger, the display vehicle of a mobile Army missile system, met up with Wing Commander E.C. Dunn at M.O.D.
 

July 1970 to August 1973

MO Valve Co., part of GEC as Sales Engineer, specialising in Head Up Display tubes. Sold whole range of products.
 

August 1973 to July 1986

Thorn EMI Electronics, was SE Labs (EMI) selling a range of instrumentation equipment and later, data communications equipment, made redundant.
 

September 1986 to Feb: 1987

Full time ski instructor at Harlow Ski School where I had been instructing part time for many years before. Great job, hard work, out in all weathers but very fit.
 

February 1987 to July 1991

Sales Manager for Spring Steel Productions in Walthamstow, company made small springs of all sorts and small pressings. Took early retirement, having got a bit fed up with such a low tech. Industry. It was very interesting all the same
 

November 1993

My wife of 35 years died of Ovarian Cancer.
 

December 1993 to March 1994

Australia to help get over the loss.
 

November 1994

Moved to Tenerife, didn’t fancy being lonely in the cold.
 

October 1996

Met Rafi at a Tai Chi Workshop in Mallorca.
 

June 1997

Rafi came to Tenerife and we decided to get married the following year.
 

March 1998

Moved to Córdoba.
 

15th May 1998

Got married in the Salón de los Mosaicos Romanos in the Alcázar, now living very happily together in the old part of the city.
 

September 2004

Got hit by a fast moving car, almost killed ending with broken hip.   I now have four pins in my femur each 45cm long from my knee to the top of the femur (hip joint).
 

January 2006

Breast Cancer.   Had a mastectomy to remove my left breast, thankfully all subsequent tests have proved clear.
 

February 2007

Sold our house in the old town and brought a fairly large apartment nearer to the centre of the city.
 

Updated February, 2008.