RAOC Gazette - page 186
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1981 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1981 |
| Late date | 1981 |
| Transcription |
Wk ^ STAMPE COLLECTION By MAJOR R . K . J. HANINGTON EARLY last December an ancient biplane landed at Middle Wallop. Not an outstanding event, but it did represent the end of a most protracted exercise. I suppose the foolishness really began in April, when I recognised that flying a Condor was giving me as much satis- faction as one would expect from a winged tea chest. At the back of my little brain, there was an image, suppressed, but nevertheless there, of a bi-plane and in that small aviation section which lends dignity to Exchange and Mart, I thought I recognised the telephone number of a man who some two years earlier had been trying to sell a Stampe. On an off- chance I telephoned and learned that there was a Stampe for sale somewhere in the south of France. I remember saying that I must get the aircraft within the week or somebody else would be sure to buy it. That was in May, and then started the long series of nonsenses which would occupy me until December. It was made very clear to me that 1 would not be able to bring the Stampe out of France without certain documents, one of which was an export licence for war material. (After all, I might use a Stampe to drerp de berm!) Being stoically English all discussions had to be conducted in second-hand French, nevertheless the customs in Le Touquet confirmed that without the export licence for war material, 1 would not pass. I thought I had been very clever at this stage, by arranging with the Frenchman who was selling the aircraft that he ob- tained the documents which I needed. He warned me that it takes a long time to negotiate these things in France. Never- theless I felt that he, as a Frenchman, in France, would accom- plish the thing rather faster than I could as a non-French- speaking Englishman on the proper side of the Channel. It did take a very long time, but eventually after five months he wrote and told me that he had the documents but that the customs officials at Perigueux where the aircraft was, told him that the export licence for war material was not applicable and could, therefore, not be issued. This was in direct contradiction to the advice I had received from the customs at Le Touquet. I telephoned (second-hand again) to the customs at Le Touquet and ex- plained that the customs at Perigueux said that the document was not needed and I asked whether they would let me pass without i t ' N o n ! ' That brought me up short—where did I go now? An import/export agency at Lydd very kindly telexed their Paris counterpart who took the matter up with the Chief of all the Douanes in Paris. They agreed that I did not need an export licence for war material. Again, the telephone call, (second-hand), to Le Touquet. I explained that Paris confirmed that I did not need the export licence; would they now let me pass without it? ' Non!' At this stage I began to have unkind thoughts, I had had some difficulty in telephoning Le Touquet at all and a friend in Germany was also trying on my behalf. The next day he told me that he had succeeded in talking to the customs at Le Touquet and that they agreed that I did not need an export licence for war material in order to export a Stampe from France. Once again, the second-hand telephone call to Le Touquet. I explained that Germany had spoken to them the previous day and that they had said I did not need the export licence. They agreed! When I pointed out that this was in direct contradiction to what they had told me the previous day, they had no knowledge of any such statement at all. All these arrangements had taken from May until Novem- ber. At last it seemed that the difficulties had been overcome and that all I needed to do now was to go to the aeroplane and to bring it back to England. (Foolish boy that I was!) Ideally, I needed to recruit an engineer, who could inspect . the Stamps before I finally committed myself to buying it. I needed a pilot, with an aeroplane, to fly us to Perigueux. I needed another pilot, current on a Stampe to help me fly that aeroplane back and I needed a French linguist to cope with all the problems which were going to emerge on that front. This party was becoming large and something had to go. I was — 395 A general view of the office. prepared to try to conduct the exercise without an engineer and I would take pot luck with shouting in English. To make matters worse, French customs in Perigueux don't open on Saturdays or Sundays and French banks don't open on Mondays. To find an aeroplane and two pilots one of whom who could fly a Stampe, and both of whom were able to leave their business arrangements during the week, proved to be exceedingly difficult. After considerable effort and time eventually I did find two people who were prepared to help and who could get away. Then the weather intervened and the trip was postponed. After that one was unable to come, owing to his business commit- ments, so I was back where I started yet again. A long time had passed since that day in May when I had said that I must collect the aeroplane within the week. It was now the 25th November and I made the last of a great many attempts to try to find somebody who could assist in moving the Stampe. I telephoned my last possible contact. He was not able to help. Finally after all those months, I gave up. That lunch time, I turned to the back pages of Flight and started reading the advertisements again, but in the afternoon there was a telephone call. A voice said " You don't know me, my name is Jerry Mead, I've just had a telephone call from someone who had a telephone call from someone whom you telephoned this moming. I might be able to help in moving your Stampe, when do you want to go?" When I said " Dawn tomorrow," there was a sharp intake of breath but this was a man of decision and that evening I met him from the train at Andover. At dawn the following morning we met Doug Martin at Blackbush with a Cessna. At last, I thought this project really is underway, and we can get on with the job of getting to France, buying the Stampe and flying it home. Doug, who would fly the Cessna had a met forecast from Heathrow. We stood there in the dark and read it with a torch. It actually forecast rain, snow, hail and fog. There would be no flying in that weather. We got into our motor cars and drove home. Was this really the end of the project—again? As we drove back to Wiltshire the sun rose, the skies became progressively bluer and by the time we were home again, I had grave misgivings about Heathrow's forecasters. I tele- phoned Upavon for a forecast. Their forecast was so different from Heathrow's that I took a second forecast from Odiham. They agreed with Upavon. By luck, I was able to contact Doug on the telephone at home. We. clambered back into our motor cars, drove back to Blackbush and took off at about noon. Again I thought the last obstacle must now have been overcome. We were on our way. Indeed the flight to~ Lydd, Le Touquet and on- |
| Book number | R0404a |