M5Clive

In previous years, I have always been away on holiday as we generally have two weeks away after War & Fleece in July. I can't speak for any of the others of course. What have you in mind - Whatever it is, I'm sure it would be a good day out! Cds

A lovely 'end of the day' shot of another of my neighbour's warbirds spoilt only but the grinning officer in Class-A uniform. This was Maurice Hammond's (owner of the warbird collection) 25th Wedding Anniversary party last summer and we were dressed for his Big Band 40's Dance. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0058.jpg[/img] Would you believe, as the weather was nice on Saturday, we went to Felixstowe for the afternoon. Spoke to Maurice yesterday on the phone and he said "Flew over your house twice on Saturday afternoon, first in the Harvard then took your TV aerial off with the Mustang - Couldn't see anyone home!!" Would you bloody believe it :-( :-( :-(

Dave Tuthall, pictured right with me on Thorpe Abbotts Control Tower is another member of Wild Blue Yonder and is the man responsible for the Bolero Swing Dance on Saturday June 30th, after the Dromes convoy has returned from Hardwick. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/Uniforms004.jpg[/img]

Food for thought - Just pre-occupied at the moment with so many other things.......... Nice idea though ;-)

Another option Jack. Chris Maine from Wokingham is also wanting to take his GMC 352, but like you, concerned about the cost. You could drive it to Wokingham, then team up with Chris (either for breakdown support, two vehicles driving together) or for sharing the costs of a transporter up to Suffolk. Another 3 entries in the post this morning ;-) cds

My eyes look like 'im possessed' in that shot :schocked: - I must have just received the bill for the framed poster that i am holding :-o

Found these pics today Jack - They show the first meeting of the Becket's with the man himself - Sgt. Donald Burgett in Aldbourne - Gathering of Eagles 2006 http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0602.jpg[/img] http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0609.jpg[/img] Don reads our book - Just to make sure the facts are right! http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0595.jpg[/img] Arriving back in the village for the first time since September 1944.

The idea being suggested regarding the MVT buying its own land for a potential showground results from a discussion, as I understand it, regarding the possible use of Gift-Aid funds. The potential amount of money to come from Gift-Aid is significant and it was just one of several ideas entering a think-tank for a contructive use of the funds. Why not have your say on the matter at the AGM in April - It's a very central venue for the entire UK and the recent motions proposed by Mr A Jones should certainly spark a debate or two thats for sure! Cds

Nice Pics Steve In fact 9th Troop Carrier Command C-47 aircrew and groundcrew is something that we like the idea of doing, because you only need 5 aircrew in stead of 9 or 10 for a Heavy Bomber crew. Phil Royal, very kindly sent me some photo's he took at Duxford last year. Here's a couple of crackers of the USN contingent in summer pattern flight clothing. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/DSC_1017-1.jpg[/img] http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/DSC_1026.jpg[/img]

Jack, You drive it half way and i'll sort the rest out. Get it to South Mimms service atop of the M25 and get Annie to follow you in the car. I will do the same with Suzanne and get this museum piece on the move. Just a ditty for you. In 1996, I got up at 6 am and drove my GMC 353 from Marlborough, Wiltshire to Aylesbury, Bucks - about 70 miles. Had a buddy follow me up and was back home in Marlborough for lunch..................Then, I got in brother Neil's GMC after lunch and drove it from Marlborough, Wiltshire to Woolpit in Suffolk, just shy of 200 miles. I was there in time for the BBQ at the Woolpit Steamfair and arrived in daylight! Yes I was tired, yes I was rich (Had sold two trucks in one day!) and yes I had a bloody good day and was full of sense of acheivement! Would I do it again 11 years older and wiser - Bloody right I would! Cds

The driver looked a little suspect (rough) for my liking, so i was sure to ask his permission before snapping his picture :whistle: I would imagine that he may have been from the travelling fraternity, but didn't engage him in conversation - As was said previously, it is good that the vehicle is at-least on the road, although I doubt its MOT is cosher!! Cds

Enough of this frivolity, back to what Wild Blue Yonder is all about. Take a look at these excellent shots, taken by an unknown photographer of The Thunder of Michigan event in 2005, which Wild Blue Yonder sent there own contingent to. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/JUGS.jpg[/img] http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/thunderbolt5633MA11491221-0010.jpg[/img] http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/FORT.jpg[/img] B-17 G Fuddy Duddy - Painted to represent a 447th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force aircraft that flew operations from Rattlesden airfield in Suffolk, East Anglia - This airfield is now owned and farmed by one of our active Suffolk Area Military Vehicle Trust members Roger Watts. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/LINEUPFORTS2.jpg[/img] http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/LINEUPFORTS.jpg[/img] What a fantastic sight - It's just mesmerising........... http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/YankeeLadyAndNineONineMA11491225-00.jpg[/img] This photo has a particular relevence to it. In March 1999 I was lucky enough to take a 45 minute flight in B-17 G 'Nine-O-Nine' shown in the foreground, from Titusville Municipal Airport, just North of Cape Canaveral, Florida and in August 2005, brother Neil and Simon Morris (Both members of HMVF and Wild Blue Yonder) took a flight in the Aluminium B-17 G Yankee Lady in the background from Willow Run, Michigan during the Thunder over Michigan airshow.

Was journeying home from Crufts in Birmingham last weekend (Don't ask) and stopped for some fuel on the A-14 near Kettering.........and what should pull-in to the service station other than this! http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/Angus003.jpg[/img] Thinking of Ian on HMVF I quickly snapped a shot before we departed - Enjoy ;-)

Thanks for the pictures and comments one and all. I did manage to get Dad to Beltring last year for the first time ever. I think they enjoyed it sufficiently enough to consider coming back again, so will keep you to the offer of the Saladin trip in the event that Dad comes with us this year. Cds

Christ Jack - No bleeding pleasing some people :-o You know that my pet-hate of all too-many LHGroup participants is the Tom Cruise shades! Ask yourself a question - How many WWII photographs do you see of GI's wearing sun glasses, yet when re-enactors pose for the camera, they always seem to have them on. No doubt I will now be inundated with WWII photo's showing servicemen in sunglasses but just this once i'm prepared to make an exception :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/Clive000.jpg[/img] This is the early WWII summer-pattern Suffolk County Council drainage ditch digger!

Alright Jack, if you think I look bloody good in a dress, what do you think of what i've got strapped to my backside in this shot then :-o When you do things to the best of your ability and have an eye for authenticity and accuracy opportunities present themselves out of the blue. On the last open day of 2006 at Hardwick Field, Maurice Hammond, the owner of the P-51 Janie, said to me "With all that gear on, you better get yourself in the hot seat for a pose!" How could I refuse? If I had realised that this opportunity was going to present itself, I would have taken my leather flying helmet, as the 50 mission officer 'crusher' cap doesn't really suit the hot-seat of the P-51 like it would a B-17 - but what the hell!

At long, long last and after much frustration between the various software packages on Mac's and PC's it has arrived.................... :what: :what: :what: Yes, a fully downloadable Entry Form for both Vehicle participants and Re-enactment Groups and individuals is available on http://www.redballexpress.co.uk Its been a long time coming and sorry for the delay, but the delay hasn't stopped plenty of people from booking in via snail-mail. Another two GMC's 6x6's this morning and a Chevrolet 4x4 yesterday. Check out the 1940's Swing Dance info also available on the web-site :-D Cds

Thanks for the info Phil. Yes would very much like a CD of your shots. I'm not sure I saw you - We were beneath the B-17 for quite a while on the grass before the flying started. Will PM my details to you. If you PM your details Bodge Jeep, i'll give you a call and chat a bit about the Group. Cds

This was a sequence of photographs I took last year when Wild Blue Yonder was called upon by Channel 5 to undertaken some filming work for a programme they were shooting in Cambridge. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0190.jpg[/img] I provided the Class A uniforms and then sourced the bodies including older brother Neil (On left) and Suzanne On right - funnily enough! http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0204.jpg[/img] The Eagle pub near to Kings College was a regular haunt for many Allied flyers during WWII and many used candles, zippo lighters and lipstick to inscribe their names onto the ceiling. These shots show us replicating a scene of 65 years ago and in-fact really look quite atmospheric - Especially the pint glasses with a handle! http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0222.jpg[/img]

The previous B-25 crew pictures were taken at Duxford Flying Legends 2005. Last year (2006) we spent some time chilling-out on and around the French operated B-17 'Pink Lady.' Here's a shot of Andy Burley on the flight deck checking-in with the Tower before pre-flighting the engines! http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0135.jpg[/img] Climbing back onto the flightdeck from the nose. The B-17 is amazingly crampted and in flying clothing, it is very cumbersome to move around the aircraft. One can only imagine how difficult it was to move around the aircraft in operational conditions, wearing all the high altitude clothing, oxygen and comms systems, flak jackets & helmets and not forgetting that the temperature was 50 degree's below zero :-o http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0147.jpg[/img] Pink Lady's Wright Cyclones with Hamilton Standard propellors http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/IMG_0154.jpg[/img]

The guy in the middle is the same guy pictured by the B-25 nose art, with his hand on the aircraft. He is Bob Stedman from the Southampton area. He has just the right looks in the uniforms he wears and is infact a soft spoken, quiet and reserved chap! Last year was the 5th year that I had exhibited at Duxford Flying Legends either with WWII Military Vehicles or in kit. Ironically, Lee Bowden and First Allied Airborne were exhibiting at Legends for the first time last year, but you would think they had been attending for decades to hear them ;-) Joking apart, Lee's group always supports our 101st Airborne 'Gathering of Eagles' event in Aldbourne, so I do get on well with Lee and his group. Wild Blue Yonder however is specifically aimed at portraying the USAAF - I know many LHGroups include elements of the USAAF but are not solely targeted at such. Of course there is enough room on the show circuit for everyone and our inflated ego's :whistle: cds

Wild Blue Yonder is not intended to be a die-hard living history group where you spend every weekend throughout the show season living in a male only environment, in fox-holes if appropriate and being required to committ 110% to The Group! This kind of set-up, which may happily suit some, certainly does not suit me or my family and has been the demise of all too many Groups in the past. The idea behind this Group is that it needs to consist of a bit of everything. Its no good everyone wanting to be the pilot of the Memphis Belle, because as Ed Abbott said so well on the Operation Bolero website - it took 2500 men to keep 25 aircraft in the sky! Not only that, but have you seen how much original aircrew kit costs these days?? Its much cheaper to portray the ground crew mechanic, when all you need is a grubby pair of HBT overalls, a pair of service boots and an adjustable spanner in your top pocket! Its not my idea to grown the Group to such an extent that it becomes unmanageable or gets overrun by internal politics of its members. We are planning to have a certain element of our Group at Operation Bolero, but having said that, I'm going to be far too busy as event organiser to spend all afternoon parading around for the cameras :-D Will post some more pics over the next few days and give more details of how people can become involved if they are seriously interested. cds

This is myself, daughter Elly and 95th Flight Engineer and Top Turrett gunner T/Sgt Dick Saucier. Dick was in the 412th Squadron of the 95th Bombardment Group and flew aboard B-17 G's from Horham Airfield, in Suffolk. This picture was taken during a return to his former wartime airfield in 2005. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/063.jpg[/img] This shot shows Dick in 1944 at Horham and wearing a fantastic A2 leather flying jacket with the 95th BG Group painted patch sewn onto the chest. You can also just see a rack of bombs painted onto the opposite side of the jacket front - A familiar sight on many flyers jackets in the Eighth Air Force, but this seemed a particularly favourite trend in the 95th. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/HMVFPictures017.jpg[/img]

Ok, so not strictly European Theatre of Operations but worthy of inclusion none the less. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/Uniforms007.jpg[/img] Three Flight-crew members of a North American B-25 Mitchell discuss the practice mission of the day on a temperorary airstrip somewhere in the Mediterranian Theatre. (aka Duxford :roll:) http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/Uniforms005.jpg[/img] http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/Uniforms001.jpg[/img]

During the past year, I have been quietly putting plans into place to launch a brand new, living history group dedicated to the memory of the United States Army Air Force during WWII. This will be a low-key, limited numbers group with the aim of being able to recreate a ground-crew and/or air-crew scenario on an Eighth or Ninth Air Force airfield in England during WWII. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w205/suzannewitton/WildBlueYonder012.jpg[/img] This section of Operation Bolero will be a good visual platform to show the type of things we get involved in and to show that undertaken correctly, those who participate in Living History can add an extra dimension to our hobbie and movement, often in quite a powerful and well respected manner. I think the results will speak for themselves given time. In the meantime have a look at some pics from the past couple of years along with some veterans pictures, which is very much an instrumental part of what Wild Blue Yonder is all about :-)