Harriers put on a showy goodbye

As Japanese say 'Hai' to our Harriers.



Photograph supplied by kind permission of Martin Brookes - if only I had the technical know-how to upload it - heigh ho!

On Wednesday RAF pilots put on a show stopping display, despite the low cloud cover over RAF Cottesmore. It is rumoured that our Harrier jets have been sold to the Japanese. So possibly they may yet be used as a first line of defence against Chinese military might. Although the Chinese onslaught is as yet limited to commercial warfare, predominantly in Africa.

Whilst an assortment of supposed ‘dignitaries’ assembled at the main gate to RAF Cottesmore, before being waved through by MoD policemen – no doubt to partake of some yummy scrummy military rations and the odd tot, or not so odd tot of ethanol, the rest of us assembled at crash gate one and made our way through muddy fields. Enthusiasts with long lens cameras came from Germany, Devon, Scotland, Tynemouth, Cheshire and of course good old Oakham.

RAF Cottesmore was first mooted in 1936 and referred to as ‘The Thistleton Site.’ It became operational in 1938 under Wing Commander H V Drew OBE AFC. By 1943 we had 3,700 U S Airmen stationed at Cottesmore – all determined to be as hospitable as war time rationing and American supply chains allowed. Exton Hall was requisitioned for the burgeoning accommodation needs at the base. In 1999, after our airbase in Germany closed, the Harriers were stationed at Cottesmore. Cottesmore is the second highest air base in the country at around 425 ft above sea level. On Wednesday 15 December 2010 the cloud cover was disappointing. Nevertheless the RAF put on a show of magnificent proportions, hovering, flying in formations of four, peeling off with precision. The RAF, in a spirit of egality, ensured that the assembled photographers at crash gate one got a fantastic display.

My father did his National Service in the RAF and had fond memories of his two years of service prior to going to University. He was eventually posted to Cranwell and got his wings in a Tiger Moth, in which his instructor had told him to simulate a stalled landing. Unfortunately he didn’t hear the word ‘simulate’ and so stalled the plane before taking it in to land. He couldn’t understand why the instructor’s knuckles had turned white.

What will happen to Cottesmore now? There are rumours; rumours that the Air Tattoo at Fairford will come to Cottesmore in 2012; rumours that it will be turned into an immigration centre to house families and children of detained immigrants awaiting the Immigration Appeal Tribunal decisions; rumours that the bully boys of the army and their blinkered commanders will take over the base; pressure from a local Councillor to turn it into a commercial airport. The truth is no one knows. What we do know is that if nothing comes into the base Cottesmore and Oakham will become a ghost town, house prices will plummet and we will be yet another rural backwater with no local economy to sustain us. Perhaps then we might get a change of political leadership. Every cloud …

Start of British Armed Forces Week

At ten thirty this morning - outside Oakham Library - a flag was raised with all the ceremony which the military manage to do so well. It was all a little confusing. As the flag was raised the C O of North Luffenham saluted. So did some of the other ranks, however some did not. Couldn't quite work out what the military etiquette was. The flag stayed folded, there was too little wind to unfurl it.

The Commanding Officer at Cottesmore gave a worthy address after the flag was raised.

When the flag finally shrugged out of its folds one could see this was not a Union Flag but in fact half a Union Flag, beneath the horizontal red line of St George. were the words:

British Armed Forces
Show Your Support

Couldn't work out whether, since it wasn't a Union Flag, it actually deserved a salute from the C O at North Luffenham or not. At the risk of being a 'Colonel Blimp' I mentioned that it appeared the salute had been given to a bit of bunting. Quite whether the O Rs should have been saluting was something I'm not qualified to give an opinion on, but perhaps communications are a bit poor to the O Rs. Not surprising really since I gathered that the Lord Lieutenant, Officers, Mayor and other senior people were off for refreshments at the Castle whilst the Other Ranks were left out in the cold. Glad to see that the Commanding Officer of the cadets at Oakham School very politely side stepped his invitation to the Castle. At least there are some who are politically educated in Oakham.

How very odd too that we were there to honour the military who have lost their lives in a politically questionable war, yet those representing the Other Ranks, who represent the majority of the 300 who have died in this questionable war in Afghanistan and many more who have died in Iraq, were not honoured enough to be included in the official reception.