207 SQUADRON ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORY

207 Squadron July 1971

can you confirm the event, date and the people?
Dennis Buck thinks this was possibly AOC's Inspection - according to the Squadron history
one took place in July 1971; in Jan 1972 Les Arthur took over from Bev Kent who had arrived in Aug 1970.


Devon VP968, Pembroke WL929 and a Bassett in the background: see below for names
source Lesley Hayward

1/4

L-R: Gerry Herd - Geoffrey Dalton - Leigh Gothard - +Ralph Elliott

2/4

back L-R: +Mike Thatcher - +Ronald Ian Thompson* - Alan Berridge** - Paddy Crowther (Lindholme?)
front: L-R: ?Nav from Lindholme - Doug Bosher - Jock Murdoch - Ken Ayre

*Dennis Buck believes RT died in a car accident in Oman - "I knew him in Changi and checked him out for Spit Support": RT's son Guido confirms his father's death in a car accident in Oman in September 1978.

** Dennis Buck: perhaps it is not Alan Berridge as he does not appear in my log book until 1972.

3/4

back L-R: 'Murph' Ivelaw-Chapman - John Reeve - Steve Jarvis - Eddie Ambrose - Dennis Buck
front: L-R: Austin Sullivan - Beverly Kent (OC207) - Bob Hall - Glen Colam

4/4

back L-R: George Mitchell - Budd Beard - Mike Sorensen - +Wally Bloor - SAC Livingstone?
front: L-R: Ron Piper - Alan Vickers - Dick Hayward

identifiers:
Lesley Hayward (her first husband, the late Flt Lt Dick Hayward, was a pilot on 207 Sqn 31 Oct 69 to 12 Jun 72)
Dennis Buck, Pilot 2/71-1/74

Lesley Hayward

Lesley writes: from his personal flying log number 4 I see that Dick flew VP952, 956, 961, 965, 967, 968, 971, 973, 974.
Other captains/crew were S/L Cornish, Slater, Kent
Co-Pilots/crew were:
F/L Mitchell, Stuart, Colan, Laing, Doyle, Coombes, Ling, Coppins, Beard, Piper, Sorensen, Bennett, Reeve, Gray
F/O Watts, Fentum, Butler, Thatcher, Dalton, Herd, Berridge, Fallon, Wood
total flying hours: 859

Dennis Buck

At the time the Squadron consisted of:
A Flight - commanded by Austin Sullivan who, with his nav Ken Ayre crewed Strike’s C-in-C’s aircraft, usually the Pembroke. The reserve crew was Alan Vickers and Doug Bosher.
B Flight - mostly Basset pilots but Bob Hall, the flight commander was Devon only.
There were two permanent detachments, a Basset at Lindholme and a Devon at Turnhouse. I assume Dick Hayward must have been part of the latter with Mike Sorenson as his Nav.

Dickie Hart was a navigator on the Squadron early in 1971 but the front Nav does not look like him. Similarly Chris Gibbons was in evidence in late July 1971, a tall well built navigator. Maybe the Nav at the back was from Lindholme but then who is the nav at the front? Hopefully someone else will solve the mystery.

last update 15 Oct 2007