Enjoy the trip down memory lane with the photgraphs received from Russell King and his years in NO 26 FLT.

Thanks once again Russell.

PLEASE BE PATIENT AS THERE ARE SEVERAL PICS TO BE LOADED

Dear Vlad,

The pix I promised are on the accompanying disc. Please feel free to use them as you see fit, some are scans of photos and others (of obviously lower quality) are scans of prints made from scans. Some cropping etc. may be required, you being in the IT industry no doubt know more than I about that. The following table gives some background to each of the pictures. I’m afraid I don’t have all the names and pack drill, but you’ll obviously decide what’s good and what’s not.

ATC 1 Reserve members, date unknown, but obviously at an East Sale camp. The only names 1 can recall are my father, (FIgOff Trevor King, second from right front row) and LAC George Francis, far right middle row. Both were from 26 Flight, though my father spent some time with a Melbourne flight (perhaps No. 2 at Preston) in 1970, shortly before his death  

ATC 2. JNCO Course, East Sale 1969. Two LV cadets are Doug King (fourth from right, middle row) and David Lindsay (far right, middle row). Douglas my brother also served in the RAAF Reserve in the late seventies, though I don’t recall which Melbourne flight he was involved in (Brighton perhaps?)  

ATC 3 Obviously a summer camp. The names I have are FltLt Bernie Hansford, OIC 26FLT (far left, second row), SGT Trevor King (second from left, middle row, and the fact that he’s a Sergeant means this photo is pre-1967) and CPL Rex Hibbert, far left, top row   

ATC 4. 26FLT Instructors and the flight’s cutaway Gypsy engine, photographed in the Flight Hut. Left to right, FltLt Bernie Hansford, unknown, SGT Bernie Hennie, FSGT ‘Mickey’ Rooney, SGT Trevor King, unknown and FltLt Howard O’Meara. Both Hansford and O’Meara flew fighters in Europe in WWII   

ATC 5 Traralgon Anzac Day March, 1968. Leading is FIgOff Trevor King and the NCO is SGT Bernie Hennie.   

ATC 6 SGT Trevor King, an unknown Cadet SGT and 26FLT’s cutaway Gypsy engine at the Morwell Show in 1966.  

ATC 7 FltLt George Bishop and three LV cadets in the East Sale Safety Equipment Section. Bishop had also been a WWII flier.   

ATC 8 Cuffing from the Latrobe Valley Express in December 1968. The scene is from the 26FLT end-of-year parade. The cadets are: CPL R King (me), LAC Bill Hall (Cadet of the Year), LAC Trevor Beames (Best Advanced Cadet), LAC lan Russell (Best Proficiency Cadet) and AC Ray Murray (Best Basic Cadet). Both Hall and Beames went on to join the RAAF.   

ATC 9 My most memorable General Service Camp ever. I just wish I could remember exactly which year and put a face to all of the names I think it was January 1966. Far left is Ross Malcolm, who went on to join the Reserve and instruct at one of the Victorian flights, and at far right is Chris Kennedy, who came from 9FLT East Sale, and, like me, went on to join the RAAF. We both became armament fitters. The other names are P Jones, R Loney, Mike Simmons and R Janes (?)   

ATC 10 My Junior NCO Course in 1966, I’m to the right of the big bloke in the back row (his name was Perry, and he was a monster) a.nd the reason 1 already have my stripes is that I had been granted acting rank some six months before, Some other names from the course are: Kennedy, Odgers, Homer, Lovett, loannides and Parsons, The airman in the front row was named Krai-Krakewski.   

ATC 11 East Sale General Service Camp. I’m second from left middle row, and the only other names I know are the bloke in the centre of the back row (it was Winch, and he went on to become a RAAF Photographer) and the CPL at the end of the middle row was named Murdoch  

ATC 12 My first GS Camp as an NCO. That’s me second from left, front row. I don’t recall any other names   

ATC I3 My very first GS Camp, May 1965. I’m second from right, back row. Only a few other names, Blood (second from right, middle row), Gary Boast (fifth from left, middle row) and Ferreri (far right, middle row) we all called him ‘Enzo’ naturally. The officer in the front row is FlgOff Rutherford.  

ATC I4 With the Victorian Squadron’s Ground Defence ‘guru’, FltLt Trevor Coghill. The picture is taken across the road from Camp HQ, and I’m on the far right and the bloke on the left was named McGoldrick. Both of the other cadets were also from 26FLT. Having used only .303s we thought that being so close to an L1AI was pretty good.  

ATC 15 My father and Ton my last night in the Corps, December 6th, 1968. He has just presented me with an award for outstanding service.  

ATC 16 My first GS Camp, May 1965. Left to right are: Graham Wyte, myself, Peter Blood and FltLt Rutherford   

ATC 17 FltLt Graeme Bishop, LAC Richard Loveday (Morwell) and CPL Gary Bowman (Preston). This photograph has to be from 1968, as the first Macchi wasn’t delivered until October 1967 and since the subjects are in battledress must be in the cooler months. Gary Bowman joined the RAAF and became an armourer like me. In fact we served in the same squadron in SA. He’s still in the RAAF, but bald and almost TX  

ATC I8 GS Camp at East Sale. Only two people I know here, my father, middle of the front row, and LAC George Francis beside him.  

ATC 19 Related to ATC9, and gives a good idea of the overalls and gaiters and the accommodation blocks we used   

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