COMBAT AND COMPETITION.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

COMBAT AND COMPETITION
for hangovers and uneasy stomachs after the night before. Fred, ex
Petty Officer, blessed with the largest conk imaginable and a heart of
gold. Until recently manager of the Engine Instruments Division he
had become a marketeer and a great ally. Tough and resilient he
seemed likely to outlive most of his contemporaries. Yet within a
matter of years he was dead. Killed by a massive heart attack. His wife
was a character too. At one time she owned the Claverdel Restaurant
in Guildford. When he died they were living near Maidstone and she
took over his seat on the Borough Council and eventually served as
Mayor.
Business and gliding overlapped time and again during
Farnborough week. Especially so when friends in the industry, with a
shared interest to strengthen the relationship, dropped in for a chat.
Better still when Horace Buckingham asked me to fly his Olympia IV
in the show.
On balance gliding seemed to be good for one's career, at the very
least it did no harm, and it would be increasingly useful as Elliotts
moved into Europe.
At the Paris Salon, on the first occasion, we limited our presence
to a tour of inspection and a small drinks party. Bruce Adkins, who
had moved on from the publications department at Borehamwood to
Euratom, suggested an unusual venue in the form of a private
museum.
In the end, despite his responsibilities for the promotion of nuclear
energy, he became totally involved and agreed to mastermind the
whole exercise. It was a generous gesture which we were delighted to
accept.
Bruce had changed little since our days together at Borehamwood,
except that he had become a committed European. You could tell that
he would never abandon the best of the traditions in which he had
been brought up. For he remained intensely proud of his country. It
was an example which many would do well to follow. Thanks to his
organising ability, his local knowledge, and his genuine affection for
France, our 'Musee Cocktail, 1 was an unqualified success.
Two years later we went the whole hog. A good sized stand at Le
Bourget, featuring civil and military flight control systems, inertial
navigation and engine instruments. Regrettably there was a glaring
error in the VC10 brochure which described 'Autoflare' 2 as
'Autofireworks 1 ! My advice, to have the translation checked in France,
had been ignored.
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