‘Hon Sec’ who told them she had been taken home by one of the crew to Molly’s.
We got back to Shoreham Harbour about 9-30 pm in the dark, only to find the National media wanted to speak to us. The next day we were in all the newspapers and this was followed by calls from the RAF and Air Accident Board.
A couple of weeks later we each received a very nice print signed by the Team and a personal thank you letter from Steve Johnson. His wife even washed the hanky I lent him for his cut head ironing it and returning it with his letter.
A postscript to this was that I went to visit the team at RAF Kemble and was given a great day out along with Shelley. The friendship has remained until this day and Shelley was mentioned in dispatches several times by the Team Manager Ray Tilthorpe.
They returned to Brighton to do a display the following year and I met Ray again when he had to do the commentary on the seafront. He was collected and flown by John Haffenden who was the manager of Shoreham Airport from RAF Manston where they had based. Being a little late we had a police escort into Brighton. What an experience for Shelley sitting in the back of a Land Rover with one of The Red Arrows being driven at high speed into Brighton. Sadly to no avail as a sea mist had set in and they could not display.
It has remained one of the highlights of my life and set me back on the path to returning to photography as a hobby which was later to become my new found career. For the next few years Shelley and I were able to visit some of the RAF Bases seeing things that many others would not see. Dogs have always held a significant part in relationships with RAF personnel so she was always assured of that extra little bit of attention.
As a thank-you I arranged the following year to take The Red Arrows on the Ramsgate Lifeboat for a trip out to the Goodwin Sands and to visit the Lightship. Ramsgate’s Coxswain Ron Cannon agreed to this with the help of a John Ray who was on the Shoreham Crew whose parents lived in Broadstairs. We all met at the harbour and made our way to the lifeboat moored by the jetty where I had left Shelley in the car by the boathouse. One of the helpers had the car keys so if we were delayed she could be given a walk.
The steps to the boat were covered in seaweed and my yellow wellies decided to go one way and I the other! I hit my head fairly hard but was fine. We had a great trip out meeting up with pilot cutter and then went on board the Goodwin Lightship for a tour. Arriving back at Ramsgate we then all went to the Yacht Club where the Red Arrows presented them with a signed print and the same to the Lifeboat Crew.
Steve was still concerned regarding my fall and decided I should have a check over at the Ramsgate Hospital where it was confirmed I had a little concussion. He took me there in the team’s car which was flown around on the Hercules RAF support aircraft. Head injuries are best looked at and it was felt I was showing signs of concussion forgetting I had left Shelley at the boathouse. All was eventually sorted out and we met for a drink later that evening.
The next day they were due to fly off to Foye in Cornwall and we heard later that on route from Manston they did a couple of fly bys over the Goodwin Lightship as a thank you for their visit. They were the days when The Red Arrows had more control over their displays and where they went. It was also ironic that following the Brighton incident the ceiling for their display height was raised well above the 37 foot high yachts mast to 50 feet.
Later that day we made our way back to Shoreham making some more calls on the way and once home I sent the team a set of the photographs taken on the Lifeboat which were placed in their
We got back to Shoreham Harbour about 9-30 pm in the dark, only to find the National media wanted to speak to us. The next day we were in all the newspapers and this was followed by calls from the RAF and Air Accident Board.
A couple of weeks later we each received a very nice print signed by the Team and a personal thank you letter from Steve Johnson. His wife even washed the hanky I lent him for his cut head ironing it and returning it with his letter.
A postscript to this was that I went to visit the team at RAF Kemble and was given a great day out along with Shelley. The friendship has remained until this day and Shelley was mentioned in dispatches several times by the Team Manager Ray Tilthorpe.
They returned to Brighton to do a display the following year and I met Ray again when he had to do the commentary on the seafront. He was collected and flown by John Haffenden who was the manager of Shoreham Airport from RAF Manston where they had based. Being a little late we had a police escort into Brighton. What an experience for Shelley sitting in the back of a Land Rover with one of The Red Arrows being driven at high speed into Brighton. Sadly to no avail as a sea mist had set in and they could not display.
It has remained one of the highlights of my life and set me back on the path to returning to photography as a hobby which was later to become my new found career. For the next few years Shelley and I were able to visit some of the RAF Bases seeing things that many others would not see. Dogs have always held a significant part in relationships with RAF personnel so she was always assured of that extra little bit of attention.
As a thank-you I arranged the following year to take The Red Arrows on the Ramsgate Lifeboat for a trip out to the Goodwin Sands and to visit the Lightship. Ramsgate’s Coxswain Ron Cannon agreed to this with the help of a John Ray who was on the Shoreham Crew whose parents lived in Broadstairs. We all met at the harbour and made our way to the lifeboat moored by the jetty where I had left Shelley in the car by the boathouse. One of the helpers had the car keys so if we were delayed she could be given a walk.
The steps to the boat were covered in seaweed and my yellow wellies decided to go one way and I the other! I hit my head fairly hard but was fine. We had a great trip out meeting up with pilot cutter and then went on board the Goodwin Lightship for a tour. Arriving back at Ramsgate we then all went to the Yacht Club where the Red Arrows presented them with a signed print and the same to the Lifeboat Crew.
Steve was still concerned regarding my fall and decided I should have a check over at the Ramsgate Hospital where it was confirmed I had a little concussion. He took me there in the team’s car which was flown around on the Hercules RAF support aircraft. Head injuries are best looked at and it was felt I was showing signs of concussion forgetting I had left Shelley at the boathouse. All was eventually sorted out and we met for a drink later that evening.
The next day they were due to fly off to Foye in Cornwall and we heard later that on route from Manston they did a couple of fly bys over the Goodwin Lightship as a thank you for their visit. They were the days when The Red Arrows had more control over their displays and where they went. It was also ironic that following the Brighton incident the ceiling for their display height was raised well above the 37 foot high yachts mast to 50 feet.
Later that day we made our way back to Shoreham making some more calls on the way and once home I sent the team a set of the photographs taken on the Lifeboat which were placed in their
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