ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

It’s not the kind of offer you get every day you know…
β€œHello there Russell, I don’t suppose you fancy going behind the scenes on an RAF base do you?”
β€œWhat, behind that big gate there? Past the fellow in camouflage with the big gun in his hands?”
β€œThat’s the one.Μύ Well?”
β€œErm, go on then!”

Flight Lieutenant Matt Clark

Of course I wasn’t going to say no, was I? It is a small boys dream after all (and my inner child was getting very excited).

So the day came and I headed inside, past the guards into the car park and up to the big red ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Bus. Flight Lieutenant Matt Clark walked over to greet me and shattered my first preconception. He was warm, welcoming and seemed happy to see us.

The media and the RAF seem to have a wary relationship, each not entirely trusting the other and usually being guarded when in each other’s company. However, I have to say the people at RAF Linton-on-Ouse were the opposite.

Trainee pilots

The staff in β€œWraps and Baps”, the base's busy cafe, were eager to feed me. The trainee pilots were keen eager chaps who are passionate about why they are there and where they may end up in the future.

The officer with the big stick with a knob on the end, who handles the ceremonial stuff, looked harsh. But Flight Sergeant Archie Barton had a glint in his eye (and a good appetite with the free cakes and biscuits at the coffee morning too!).

Flight Sergeant Archie Barton

He wasn’t at all the booming voiced robot I imagined… he was a normal bloke. Even with the uniform on, he has the same worries as everyone else… home life, love life, health, money and looking after his loved ones.

All in all, that is the major lesson I learned from my trip to RAF Linton-on-Ouse. It is not so much a base, more a small town. People move in, move out, get married, get divorced, have kids, enrol them in school, go for promotions all whilst wearing a uniform which may mean being sent anywhere in the world to fight for this country.

Inside the flight simulator

They certainly have my respect and I will always remember my time in the fast jet flight training simulator (which I did not crash, thank you very much!) I was shoe-horned into a tight space watching a huge video display, all while listening to the calm tones of an instructor who, I got the sense, had seen much better - and much worse - than me over the years!

What a great finale for the β€˜25 Streets in 25 Weeks’ celebrations for ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio York’s 25th Anniversary! It has been a wonderful way to meet people right across this fine county of ours and to bring some of their stories to the airwaves.

Pip Pip, Chaps!