The RAF in Suffolk

Hello John (and all)

(I can't see an obvious 'Intro' thread, so this seems most relevant.)

I followed your link from Friends Reunited - you are the only other Martlesham member added since I battled with FR Admin to accept that MH had genuinely been an RAF base. I don't often go to FR, so you may have been there some time.

With all the illustrious names I've seen in this forum I am very small fry. My RAF career was limited to National Service 1958-60. Induction at Cardington, square-bashing at Bridgnorth, Trade Training at Compton Bassett then a posting to HQ 11 Group at Martlesham from Easter 1959 until demob in September 1960. Signals - teleprinter operator - with the exulted final rank of SAC. (Ironic that only a very few years later, as a Civil Servant, I was on one or two occasions temporarily equated to Squadron Leader.)

I haven't been back since, although for a long while there was a second-hand link with the developing site. Google Earth suggests that the old Signals Section building - and the Generator House behind? - is still there. I wonder how much more there is.

I can't say that, overall, I was happy there, any more than were other NS bods at the time. Most of us were comparatively old then, having been deferred for two or three years while finishing degrees and most of us resented the major career break. This was almost at the end of NS; when I went to MH probably 80% of Signals were NS but when I was demobbed there were perhaps only four or so NS bods remaining, all ex-deferment. Nevertheless, MH itself was a significant part of my young life and left some strong memories, mostly pleasant. 

There was only one colleague who I met several times afterwards but we lost touch sometime during the late '60s. There are some photos of the Signals lads somewhere - I'll try to dig them up.

Best wishes