OCTOBER 2023 – Recent News
Apologies for not keeping everyone right up-to-date with recent events and Association news for a while but here’s hoping that this narrative will enable news to filter amongst you all. If you know of someone who doesn’t have an internet account with us please print a copy of this off and drop a copy in the post to a friend who might appreciate it. (Don’t forget to send it 2nd Class as my ‘postie’ reliably informs me that the Royal Mail concentrates on parcels so much these days that much 1st and 2nd class mail just gets thrown in all together.
Firstly we welcome Wg Cdr Jim Rycroft who became OC10 replacing Tim Rushworth last August. Whilst sad to see Tim move on, we hope that we can get to know Jim over the next few years during his tenure as Squadron Boss. He is no stranger to Brize Norton though as he flew the Hercules aircraft at Brize about 10 years ago. No doubt, the way this uncertain world has gone in the past year or so, his Squadron’s Voyagers will be kept ever busy.
Sadly we have had to say ‘Farewell’ to a number those who have served on 10 Squadron in the past and who have passed away during 2023. They are:
John Waltham, Ian Strike, Al Shephard, Keith Cheshire, Eric Brown, Gwenda Parry-Wren, Steve Ponting, Paul Woodman and Peter Wentworth.
Obituaries may be seen for them in the ‘Open’ part of our website.
Should you sadly have to report a future death of a former Squadron member to us, please try to give as much information as you can so that we may honour them as we would wish. Details of pertinent info that can help us are all on our website lead-in area of the main Obituary section.
Next month sees us on parade on Remembrance Sunday. This and our annual Reunion Dinner comprise the two main events in our year and so it is hoped that as many of you as possible will attend the Squadron Memorial at Melbourne. Please arrive at Melrose Farm, Melbourne, YO42 4SS by 1040 hrs so that the 2 minute silence may be observed punctually at 11:00 hrs. Location Maps and other information, including an Order of Service Brochure may be obtained from Page 2 of our website Home Page. We suggest that you only print off pages 1- 6 to bring to the Service.
It appears that the local pubs, where lunch can be had after the post-service refreshments, keep changing their owners/landlords and it’s been an uphill struggle keeping up-to-date with what is or isn’t available from over a hundred miles away. Our initial fear that the Plough at Allerthorpe has permanently proves to be unfounded – merely a landlord change and yet we fear that The Melbourne Arms in Melbourne village and also the Black Horse in Seaton Ross may not be available as one or both may be up for sale. If you have any updated information, please let us know. Meanwhile we’ll hope that Plough will have re-opened by early November although another pub mentioned to us recently is The Gait Inn at Millington, YO41 1TX which is just 3 miles north-east of Pocklington.
Many of you will have seen an article in the ‘Crewroom’ written about a connection we made last year with the Royal Australian Air Force’s No 10 Squadron after an inadvertent error made by a South Australian schoolgirl last year, who confused our Association with the Aussie one.
A similar error was also made this past summer by 83 year old Maureen Kutner, née Leech, of Labrador, south of Brisbane, in Queensland. Her father was lost in a 10 Sqn RAAF Sunderland flying boat over the Bay of Biscay in September 1943. Maureen came to the UK in September this year on a pilgrimage to Mount Batten near Plymouth, so she could see where her father last flew from. After visiting Plymouth, Mount Batten, she was then met in Pembroke, West Wales by John Rattenbury from our Association who lives nearby. John has established links with the Sunderland Heritage Centre at Pembroke Dock where 10 Sqn RAAF were based before moving to Mount Batten in 1942. Maureen was given VIP treatment whilst visiting the Centre and our grateful thanks go them and especially John for organizing Maureen’s visit. Her father had left Australia two weeks after Maureen’s birth in 1942 and she never had the pleasure of knowing her Dad. His name, Sgt S.C. E. Leech, was seen by her on Plaque 196 at Runnymede just before her visit to Plymouth. Her whirlwind tour of Plymouth and Pembroke ended by flying back to Australia at the end of a very hectic week for her. Nevertheless, after her return to the Brisbane sunshine, she wrote to say how grateful she was to us in making her lifetime mission possible and enabling her to see from where her father last took off, before his Sunderland was shot down over the Atlantic. ‘Well Done’ to John and Ruth Rattenbury for all their kindness shown to Maureen during her visit to Wales. John presented her with a framed metal sheet on which the two badges of both the Australian and UK 10 Squadrons were mounted to remind her of the two Squadrons link.
Ron Tomlin celebrated his 100th Birthday in September and his local Worcester RAFA managed to achieve the nigh-on impossible by getting approval for an RAF A400M aircraft from Brize Norton to overfly his birthday party on 12th September.
A photo of Ron on his birthday is shown below.
Talking of Birthdays…. We have just heard that another former 10 Squadron pilot, Sqn Ldr Eric Downs, MBE, who served in India on Dakotas in 1947 celebrated his 102nd Birthday recently on 24th September and is presently completing the paperwork to join our Association. – Why hasn’t he joined before one asks?
Nevertheless, we have chosen to make him an Honorary Lifetime Member and his Certificate with appropriate citation is on its way to him. Eric remained in the RAF until 1965 and spent most of his career in various training roles, claiming to have flown at least 500 student pilots over many years.
See this link on You-Tube for an interview on Eric's 100th birthday back in 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McMoSvZGxcY
This might serve as a reminder to all that the friends and families of former members may join our Association to keep their loved-ones memories alive and it also should encourage those of more recent RAF 10 Sqn Service that they really should join us as well to keep the Association’s numbers up. Even if still on the Squadron we would remind them that one day all will be ex-members of 10 Squadron and it’s up to them and us to continue ‘holding the banner’ so to speak. Without more membership, the Association will, in time fizzle out and no-one wants that to happen.
We're delighted to hear that our former Chairman David Mole is slowly recovering from some serious health issues which have plagued him for the last few years. David's courage and determination whilst not losing his sense of humour, are an example to us all. Regrettably he is uncertain as to whether he will be able to give us all a Belgian Chocolate on Remembrance Sunday this year as he hasn't been able to visit the manufacturer for a while.
Help is now sought to assist in keeping our website in tip-top condition so if there are any techies out there who fancy dabbling in the running of a relatively simple website please let us know. Please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. but a reply might take more than a few days since this isn’t checked every day.
Here's hoping to see you at Melbourne on 12th November. Copies of our From Brooklands to Brize book and Association Greetings Cards will be on sale during the ‘refreshments’ phase after the Service.
Best wishes from
'The Committee'.
