Bernard Gardiner visits RAF Coningsby
Words: Sam Worthington-Leese Pictures: Harry Measures
Since the middle of last year, we have been working on getting Bernard Gardiner up to RAF Coningsby, in order to visit 29sqn (Typhoon Display team) and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). The first visit, which was organised for September last year to coincide with Bernard coming to our Black Tie gala, had to be postponed as Bernard took a turn for the worse. Being, at the time, 101 and a half, there was serious concern. While his age, now 102, is catching up with him, he was fit and well for the journey this time, which was re-scheduled for the end of June.
Traveling over from Jersey, it is never just a case of a quick hop for Bernard, and given his age, this always needs considering. Accompanied by his two grandsons, Matt and Kim, Bernard touched down in Heathrow, using flights rescheduled from the last visit. Hiring a car, they then made the considerable journey up to Woodhall Spa, where accommodation was booked for the night. It was early evening when I joined the party, having come straight over after landing at East Midlands following an early morning flight. So, it’s safe to say, we were all a little tired.
But that didn’t stop Bernard regaling all his stories, after a little prompting – by now we know the right questions to ask to get him going. We had another guest join us for dinner, a friend of mine, Flt Lt Dave Leighton, a Eurofighter Typhoon instructor, who has just joined 29sqn. Incredibly, and this was not planned or known about in advance, it transpired over the course of the evening that Bernard carried out some training for Dave’s father in the early days of Jersey Airways. It really is a small world. Later that night, Dave spoke to his father, who sent across pictures of his logbook clearly showing the flights. Dave, like all of us, and any other RAF pilot has a huge admiration for, and interest in, the WWII exploits of the RAF, and its pilots. So it was particularly enjoyable for him to talk war stories, while flicking through Bernard’s logbook over dinner. Many on the modern Typhoon fleet feel a particular affinity to the original Typhoon fleet, perhaps due to the name, perhaps due to the fact they’re both really doing the same job in an aircraft that wasn’t really designed for that job, perhaps because of any other number of reasons; not least the logbooks are virtually unchanged and as Dave looked through Bernards he could really understand the words written within.
Next day it was up bright and early for a good breakfast and then the short journey to RAF Coningsby. Bernard’s age, and factors that result from it, meant we only had until about midday for the visits, whereupon they needed to get back in the car and head for Heathrow, and on a Friday afternoon/evening that could take who-knows-how-long. We were met at the gate by Flt Lt David Turnbull, known as “Turbo”.
Turbo was very excited to see Bernard again, having first met him at our showcase event last April, when he attended alongside last year’s display pilot, Flt Lt Matt Bright. Turbo was, in fact, one of only two people to make a donation to the cause after that event, which was not expected and very gratefully received. He believes passionately in the history of the Typhoon (MkI and MkII) and was the driver in seeing to it that this year’s jet is painted in a 1944 D-Day scheme, stripes and all. He even pushed to have it painted as RB396, along with D-Day stripes. However, given that RB396 didn’t come into service until January 1945 and the scheme had to be historically accurate (even though it’s painted on a Eurofighter…) he wasn’t able to get it through. That said, the 257sqn scheme it was chosen to have, which was flown on D-Day by then Pilot Officer Denzel Jenkins, had more than a little in common with Bernard, as we shall find out.
First stop was the Typhoon Display team crew room, for a brew. Nothing ever happens before a brew. Bernard got to meet all the team and once again he was more than happy to regale some of his wartime stories to a willing and captive audience. The team, naturally, all wanted to have a flick through his logbook and were really in awe at some of the comments made by Bernard about operational sorties. “Interdiction, railway cut in two”; “Jolly good prang”; “Loads of Flak – dicey”. And so on. Dicey? Understatement anyone?
Then it was out to the jet. Bernard became co-pilot of the official display team vehicle on the short hop out to the pan, where ZJ193 stood, in freshly applied and touched up paint because, as Turbo says, he did a great job stripping it in Canada the weekend before in heavy rain. This year, the jet is painted to represent a 257sqn aircraft, FM*G. Regular readers will know that Bernard flew in 257sqn, just a little later than D-Day, as the squadron was advancing across Europe. So, already, there was a link. Photos were taken, and then, at the bottom of the steps (which were very steep) I asked Bernard if he thought he could make it up. Unsure, he said he’d give it a go. Turning around to talk to the others, about how we were going to do that and ensure his safety, with one person in front of him and I’d go behind to steady him, I turned back round. Where’s Bernard? Christ, he’s halfway up!! Safe to say, with a little help he got in no trouble at all!
As Turbo says: “It was an absolute honour and privilege to host Bernard Gardiner’s visit to the Typhoon Display Team. It will always amaze me that at 102 years old, he managed to climb the steps and get into the new Typhoon display jet, Moggy. In fact, my biggest concern was that he would start the aircraft straight away as he seemed so determined to experience everything it had to offer.”
The jet this year is painted as a D-Day Hawker Typhoon from 1944 to honour those that fought so bravely to secure the freedom of Europe. I enjoyed speaking of Bernard’s experiences during that time, as a Typhoon pilot in 1944. Every line in his logbook had a story that felt like such a privilege to hear.
He’s not wrong. Getting out and down the steps was as well overcome as getting in. Then it was off to the BBMF, with Turbo accompanying us as visits weren’t strictly back open, following the sad death of Sqn Ldr Mark Long.
Sitting in the BBMF’s tea bar, with another brew, the opportunity came to have a real delve into Bernard’s logbook. The family had checked and didn’t seem to think that Bernard flew “G” while on 257sqn. Sure, we know he didn’t fly it on D-Day, he wasn’t on the squadron then, but I wonder about a bit later on. Then, with Turbo, as we turn page after page, there was an entry on the 11th November 1944, Remembrance Day, no less. There it is, a sortie in “G”, the very aircraft that this year’s Typhoon Display Team jet is marked up to represent. Next to it, the entry “Interdiction – Railway – Arnhem – Railway cut in several places, and several near misses. As Turbo says “a casual way to discuss the success of strafing a target at 550mph”.
Following this, and after Sqn Ldr Mark Sugden, boss of the BBMF, joined us, it was time for Bernard’s tour of the BBMF fleet, sadly, now one reduced. Just as for Turbo, and Dave the night before, Suggs was in his element talking to Bernard – after all, it is the memory of those who fought in the aircraft, that the BBMF is there to remember. Suggs joked that he feels he had been born too late – a feeling any warbird pilot can relate to – and that he was just waiting for us (pointing at me!) to get a Typhoon flying so it could come and fly with the Flight… This point is a whole other conversation, which Suggs and I have already had, and is very positive.
Entering the hangar, Bernard made straight for one of the two Hurricanes on the flight. Naturally, having flown these in training before the Typhoon. After a careful prompt in the right direction, the story of the 200 foot Hawthorn bush came out, once again – where Bernard tells with delight how, in a Hurricane, he was tasked with a low level training sortie, not below 200 feet. He then tells, with a glimmer in his eye, how he managed to find the only 200 foot Hawthorn bush in the UK while showing off to a group of Land Army girls in a field; subsequently spending a week on the ground picking out Hawthorne twigs from his radiator and tailwheel…!
Suggs really gave him that special time, which is reserved for veterans, talking with him in detail about each of the aircraft in the hangar, their tendencies, differences, and, of course, asking Bernard on his thoughts having flown the Hurricane extensively, and also having had a Spitfire flight arranged by us when he was 99. Naturally, he said he preferred the Hawker!
Suggs said of the day, and the opportunity to meet and host Bernard: “Meeting veterans is, without doubt, the highlight of being a part of BBMF. Whilst they may be old in body they are certainly young in spirit, and Bernard was no exception. To hear him talk about his wartime experiences and the aircraft he flew, it was as if he was recalling something he did last week. Being with veterans in the company of aircraft they flew is always a special moment. Bernard and I share a deep fondness of Hawker aircraft, and chatting with him next to our own Hurricane was unforgettable. Like all those of Bernard’s generation, he is an inspiration to us all, and it was a real honour to have him visit us at BBMF.”
Then came the inevitable, time to go home. Bernard and his two grandsons, who are such a help with organising and looking after Bernard on these trips, got on the road just after midday to make the long, but as it turns out, uneventful journey back to Heathrow, to get Bernard on the last flight of the day back to Jersey and home safely.
It was a fantastic day for Bernard, to see his eyes light up, his fire lit once more, and to be able to discover that link. There is a huge amount of interest in the Typhoon’s scheme this year, and we can only hope that carries over into interest in the project to rebuild the original Typhoon, as this one is marked up to represent. When we can see a MkI and a MkII flying alongside one another, both in 1944/45 schemes, that will be very special indeed. We’re well on the way, but we do need support to see it through and achieve it before the Typhoon MkII goes out of service – we’re not joking!
We shall, on this, leave the last word to Turbo and wish him a safe remainder of the 2024 display season, and thank him for his support of our project.
“Talking to Bernard was a truly special experience, the most amazing thing was his sheer enthusiasm. It was hard to slow him down once he saw the display aircraft. Bernard’s visit was in association with the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group who aim to fly the first Hawker Typhoon since 1946. I know for a fact that if Bernard has his say, he will be the first to fly it!”
