Five days elapsed before I flew again. This was for two reasons: the first was the generally poor weather, and the second was a scarcity of aircraft during the Sabre re-equipment phase and hand-over of Vampires. What turned out to be my last flight in a single-seater Vampire was in a Vampire 5, WA344. This aircraft, like all the others leaving the Squadron, had to be checked before it was ferried away. The sortie, therefore, was an air test and QGH. It was of 50 minutes duration, including 15 minutes Instrument Flying.
To get back in a cosy little, ground hugging, kiddie-car after flying the comparatively massive Sabre was like a step back into the past and I had, temporarily, to unlearn my recent retraining. This flight brought home to me the advantages of the RAF standard instrument layout over that of the more random Sabre instrument panel, as well as the lack of power of the Vampire which now seemed to scratch and crawl its way up to any altitude. Even in this slower aircraft the shortness of the Jever runway, compared with that at Wildenrath, was now all too apparent. Landing a Sabre at Jever had much potential for proving 'interesting'.
Unfortunately, as it happened, I would not have the chance to fly a Sabre again for some weeks as I was due to go on leave immediately after the imminent Easter break.
It is appropriate to digress:
We were allowed two periods of three weeks UK leave and ten days 'Continental' leave at this time. Few single Officers bothered taking the local leave; it was more use to those who wanted time off with their families living in married quarters.
To get to the UK involved the issue of Travel Warrants for the European and UK rail journeys, and the use of the 'Blue Train' from Oldenburg to the Hook of Holland, overnight on either the 'Empire Parkestone' or 'Empire Wansbeck', and the troop-train to London's Liverpool Street station. From there on each of us made our own way home. The reverse was true for the return journey to Jever. Just occasionally, but this was very rare, it was possible to hitch a lift on a visiting transport aircraft back to the UK. Although one could end up landing almost anywhere, and paying for one's rail journey home, it usually meant an extra day's leave, and that was an over-riding advantage. Before leaving Jever it was essential to visit Flt.Lt. Wright, the Accounts Officer in SHQ, to change BAFSVs into Sterling coinage and notes for use at home. To forget this could prove embarrassing.
My own journey home was either to the Wirral or to Shropshire. My family had houses in Upton, near Birkenhead, and Welshampton, near Ellesmere. I favoured the Shropshire destination as the journey was shorter. The same train (from Paddington) stopped at both Shrewsbury and Birkenhead, Woodside, but after Shrewsbury began to call at all stations, a very frustrating situation which added a considerable time to the journey.
At home, my priority was always to arrange for any new uniforms or clothing, as such had to be ordered and fitted at a tailor's before the end of my leave. I used Moss Brothers in Liverpool and had an account with them. It was usual for the first week of the leave to be spent unwinding and forgetting about the RAF. The second week was relaxation, and, it was generally accepted by all, the third week was spent preparing for the return journey and re-attuning oneself to the forthcoming months away again in Germany.
It was on this first leave that my father gave me an 8mm movie camera to take back with me.2 I well remember using it to film the German countryside from the Blue train on the way back to Jever, and someone pointing out to me that I still had the lens cap on!
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2 The use of this camera has already been discussed in Chapter 17, page 97. 111